Acceptance
by Oceanwind
Summary: We all strive for acceptance, some people in different ways than others. How far would some people go to earn their acceptance if they have no other choice? How far would they go to make a person see them for who they really are? AU Beauty and the Beast.
1. Curse

**Before you all yell at me:** Plot is used from Beauty and the Beast but with my own twist. It won't be following the Disney plot exactly because… well it's my own story version. So don't expect it to be the exact same. As a matter of fact there are some huge differences.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans or the Disney plot to Beauty and the Beast.

**A/N:** Enough with all the pointless gibbering on with the show. Enjoy the story guys and gals ;)

**Acceptance**

**Chapter One: Cursed**

The fresh air blew along his back and rustled in his hair. He turned his cheek slightly so that the wind caressed his skin as well. He sighed feeling his body relax. It had been a long day but it paid off. It was just another day for the Prince of Thieves, the most exhausting one he had encountered lately. He allowed himself to be guided inside, lost in his own thoughts as loud conversations broke out around him.

His followers had found an abandoned castle and decided to make it their camp for the night, and while one night turned into several weeks he felt his restlessness begin to rise. There was no adventure if one just stayed in the same area. He had been lucky to learn in town one day that there was an abandoned treasure because it was supposedly 'cursed'. Cursed or not it was still money that could be spent and with his mind made up he started searching for it. Out of luck he found the cave where it was hidden, and out of even more luck the treasure was within easy hauling distance of his castle. He didn't believe in something as silly as curses and couldn't help but laugh the whole time. What idiot would just dump a treasure here in plain view, it was hardly a challenge. He distributed the treasure amongst his men but still fights seemed to break out among the bandits. They were the cause for his never ending headache.

Things like a miscounting or harsh words exchanged seemed to set them off and a full out brawl within the group and was the last thing he wanted. He didn't need fighting on the inside when they were playing such a dangerous game and staying in one area. It was his third most important rule, never stay in the same spot for too long. Staying in one area bred familiarity and if one became too familiar one could become too cocky and get caught. There was another reason familiarity was bad, it made one too comfortable with the locals. Other than the biggest heists he didn't like to get too familiar with his victims. Not because he felt bad, he just had to look out for number one himself, but because he didn't like creating memories of people that would surely betray him in a heartbeat. He didn't like to think about them in his free time and wonder how they were doing. Feelings like that don't belong with someone who has earned the title the Prince of Thieves.

He didn't want the role of Prince but he had been given to him, and no matter where he ran to people had a knack for following him. Again a sigh escaped his lips. He didn't want to stay here any longer. He would have to find a way to leave soon. He felt his head ache grow as loud shouts echoed down the hallway towards him. He didn't like this role that he was forced to play. He didn't like leading a bunch of useless servants, who merely waited around for their next order. No one else took initiative to do things for themselves. It was tiring. His appetite left him as the volume in the dining hall echoed back to him. He paused for a moment, his hand resting on the door handle as he contemplated about the pros and cons of sitting through dinner with his men. The cons won out as another deafening roar was heard on the other end of the door. Without a sound he turned his heel to head away from a room that was filled with the boisterous noise of his followers and slinked away towards his area of the castle. The most abandoned part of the castle, the west wing. For some reason his group seemed to stay away from the area. He didn't care about the creeping feeling that sank into his stomach when he came here; all that mattered was that he got away from everyone for a little while. He just needed long enough to rest his head and get away from all that noise.

Before he could reach the stair case however, a thundering boom reached his ears. He turned half expecting the others to come spilling out of the dining hall to see what the noise and answer the door, but their own noise had probably drowned out the loud knock. He could feel his veins rising in anger as his feet led him to the door. As long as it wasn't the authorities he didn't see why the hell this person couldn't let themselves in. And if it was a villager he would be damned before he let one of them in among his men. He couldn't become all chummy with the locals asking for favors. That could lead to an endless possibility of disasters.

Forgetting his own strength he ripped open the door, causing it to crash against the wall loudly. This time the noise from the dining hall seemed to quiet down almost immediately and the faint patter of footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. It was too late now; he would take care of this matter.

"What?" he snarled, eyeing the old woman in front of him. He couldn't help but feel suspicious. How the hell had this old woman managed to make such a loud noise on the door?

"Won't you let me stay here for the night?" she coughed. "In exchange I'll give you something this world covets."

A small sliver looking glass appeared out of her sleeves. It was pretty but it couldn't have been worth much. The sliver looked like it needed a good polish and there was even a crack along the outer rim of the mirror. How the hell was this something the world covets? He snorted before eyeing the old woman again. Everything to the eye was unflattering about her. She had a haggled smile, a large warty nose, and sunken eyes. Her face was so covered in wrinkles he wasn't sure if he was even staring at a human face or a withered tree.

"I don't need such a gift. Don't you know where you are old woman? Get lost," he growled starting to close the door as a few men chuckled behind him. Everyone in town knew to stay away from here. That should include the old woman. She shouldn't expect hospitality from a bunch of thieves. The thieves had made their presence quiet known throughout town and in the surrounding area so she should have been warned before she had even traveled here.

"Please I beg you I don't have the strength to make it to town," she whimpered and bent over to make a show of holding her back.

He scoffed. This was obviously some type of plot and he wouldn't let this woman in. She'd probably attempt to steal all of his treasure he had just found. He hadn't been very quiet about his intentions when he discovered it.

"I said get lost grandma," he growled slamming the large door shut behind him.

There was a blinding flash and smoke began to emerge from under the door. No one made a noise as a beautiful woman opened the door and stepped in. Her hair was a pure white, not of an old lady but of pureness. Her eyes were a deep ice blue that held everyone in the room captive. Her figure was covered by a large white gown with a dark blue cloak over her shoulders. The only thing that was at fault with her angelic appearance was the frown that was sprawled along her lips.

"I'm disappointed Jason," she said addressing the Prince of Thieves. "For the merciful Thief Lord you don't seem to have much of a heart."

He couldn't even apologize. He was frozen to the spot. What in the hell was going on? Smoke, a beautiful woman? Where did the old hag go? How the hell did this bird know his name?

"You shouldn't take something without knowing its background story," she smiled, only it was more of an evil smirk. Her face was too perfect to look evil though. He could just feel the sinister feeling behind her words and the tone she used.

"You've been tested and you failed. I'll give you a chance to prove yourself before the curse claims your life. You have to fall in love with a girl before your twenty first birthday and get her to exchange the feeling," she paused dramatically as if waiting for him to protest.

He still couldn't get his head to wrap around what exactly was happening. Curse? Love? Laughter bubbled up into his throat. Her eyes narrowed at his laughter before she slapped him hard across the face. It shook him to his core and he felt the wind being knocked out of him. He fell to his knees gasping for air as his insides twisted around painfully. What the hell was _that_? The area where her hand had touched his skin burned, and it felt like a shock was coursing through his body. He felt his body fall to the floor with a violent thud and convulsed on the spot. He felt the witch lower herself to his level and still him. The pain was abruptly gone as soon as her hand caressed his skin that was exposed on his arm. He could only stare at her in wonder as she leaned down to press her lips against his ear.

"Beauty isn't just skin deep," she purred so the others couldn't hear.

"You're insane," he barked out.

The woman's flawless head shook sadly at him. Her hands curled around the mirror for a moment before she tossed it into the air to him. He caught it out of instinct.

"You have until midnight of your twenty first birthday. Good luck Jason," she whispered before she stepped out the door.

Nothing happened. There was no earthquake and everyone appeared to be breathing and alive. It was just some freak woman going around slapping people like she owned the place. The room was deathly quiet but was slowly filled with nervous chuckling. Slowly but surely the mood from earlier returned and he wanted nothing more than to escape into his quarters for a little bit. After that the rest of the night went how it always did, loudly with lots of celebrating.

As soon as his head hit his pillow he was out cold. Nothing could wake him as he slumbered peacefully through the night.

()()()()()()()()()()

He awoke the next morning feeling pain throughout his entire body. He winced as he stretched. It felt like his body was heavier than it had been. He yawned hearing an odd rumbling noise escape his throat. Was that a growl? A real growl, the kind of growl you would expect to hear out of a monster? He must have been imagining it, he chuckled but stopped suddenly when he heard the unfamiliar rumble. Maybe he had caught a cold? His head was killing him, and there was a ringing in his ears.

He felt his hand reach up and scratch his face, surprised when he felt the sting of a claw scratch his skin. Only his skin was slightly protected by hair. That was weird; he hadn't been growing out a beard the last time he remembered. Blindly he reached over his bedside table and searched for the mirror that the witch had left him.

His fingers found the smooth surface of the mirror but his hands felt bulkier than normal. His heart pounded in his chest with a little more force as fear began to take over his body. What was happening to him? Sitting up fully awake now he glanced down at the mirror. Only the reflection that met him wasn't the reflection that had met him the night before.

To say he looked different was an understatement. Where light skin had once been dark black and brown hair covered, where teeth had been fangs now stood, where his nose had been a snout was now in place, and where his ears had been short pointy ears now twitched restlessly. The only thing that looked the same was his eyes, light crystal blue eyes; they looked so out of place in this monsters body. He was a creature now, no longer a man. A roar bubbled up into his throat as he flung the mirror away from himself. He was dimly aware that there was no satisfying shatter as he reached out to pull the curtains away from his bed. His nails got caught in the fabric and another roar escaped his lips.

He heard panic outside his room and painful shrieks of his companions. It looked like he wasn't the only victim of this curse. That offered little comfort as he stumbled around his room, smashing everything in his way. The only thought he could think was a doomed thought.

He would never get a girl to love him in this form.

()()()()()()()()()()()

**Two Years later in the town **

Richard Grayson danced on his feet nervously as he peered into the window of the house he was standing outside of. He saw a flicker of movement in the corner near the fireplace and saw the unmistakable owner of the infamous purple hair turn a page in some book. Grinning, he hopped up onto the porch and knocked loudly. He heard the gentle patter of footsteps and he could have even sworn he heard a groan before the door opened slightly to reveal _her_.

She was the most beautiful girl in town. Raven Roth, a foreign wonder for all the townsfolk. Her nose was almost always stuck in a book and her oddly colored hair and eyes made her the talk of the town for a year straight when she first moved in.

"Are you just going to stand there and gape at me all day Wonder Boy or are you going to tell me what you want?" she asked.

Her voice was flat and monotone but that didn't bother him. He knew that was just a ruse for her. He had made her laugh once or twice in the past. It was definitely something he didn't mind working for. Her laughter was lighter than bells and more heavenly that anything he had heard on this earth. That might be a bit of an exaggeration but he didn't care. He loved it and he loved her and today was the day he was going to proclaim it to her.

"Well?" she asked opening the door slightly wider so she could look at him better. Her purple iris's had him captivated and he had to swallow and take a calming breath before he flashed her his infamous smile.

"Care to join me on a walk Miss Raven?" he asked extending his arm.

She raised an eyebrow skeptically and studied him for a moment before she accepted it and stepped out of her house. Closing the door behind her with a soft snap, she stared at him for a moment longer before leading the way to a well-worn path.

"Isn't it nice to get some fresh air?" he asked teasingly as they strolled further from her house.

"Yes, I was just about to head outside myself. Maybe climb a tree and finish up my book," she said absentmindedly as she surveyed the sounding trees. It was almost as if she was trying to pick out what tree to climb to escape him now. He let out a nervous chuckle and dragged her forward.

"I've heard reading too much is bad for your eyes," he offered politely.

"I've heard not reading at all leads to a dull mind," she fired back obviously offended by his comment.

That was the thing that always threw him off about Raven. She was on the same level with him and she often knew his intentions. He couldn't make polite small talk with her without it becoming some type of duel of wits. He sighed. He didn't want this today. He stopped walking and turned to face her. He felt his heart jump into his throat as he really looked her over. Even if she was in plain peasant garb she still looked gorgeous. Her curves couldn't be hidden from the large fabric and her face was more than enough to attest for her beauty. Her pale skin seemed to radiate in the soft light and her violet eyes seemed to shine brightly with laughter.

"No come back?" she teased and pulled her arm out of his grasp. Her arms folded over her chest and she mocked a disappointed face perfectly.

"Not today Rae," he responded smiling and shaking his head. He got the expected response. A blush stole over her face and she quickly shot her eyes to the ground.

"I told you not to call me that," she mumbled but her voice was softer now, losing the monotone that had been there seconds before. He smiled. He was getting quicker at breaking down her daily defenses. He grabbed her hand and held on to it with his increasing the shade of blush on her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly trying to hide the nervousness she was feeling. He knew her too well.

"Raven Roth I wanted to ask you something," his voice was calm but he felt like his heart was about to pound out of his chest as he dropped to one knee.

"No," she hissed whipping her hand out of his and taking off back to the path towards her house. He felt his heart crack slightly but he grinned to himself. He had gotten a lot further today than he had expected. Tomorrow for sure he would manage to proclaim his love. He grinned as he whistled some nameless tune as he strolled back towards town for the day. He would go after her again tomorrow and tomorrow for sure she would accept his love.

()()()()()()()()()

She slammed the door loudly behind her feeling her heart beat so loudly in her chest she thought anyone within a one mile radius would be able to hear it. Every day for the past two months Richard had been doing this. It was nearing unbearable. The friendship they had once had was slowly being lost and turning into something she wasn't quite sure what to make of. It didn't help that those blue eyes held her captivated, and that she secretly liked his advances.

She couldn't have that though. She was here for a reason. For Kori until she became of age and was no longer threatened to bring her back home to her father. She had promised she would, both her and her brother had promised. Time had passed more quickly than expected. While days had turned into weeks the Princess's convoy had grown accustomed to peasant life but Raven was starting to get frustrated. Their other goal was to show the Princess the people's lives so that she could understand every situation in her kingdom. That she could see that money wasn't something so easily obtained in this part of the country. While a few of the guards slacked off and started consorting with the locals, the real goal was starting to lose focus. Only Raven and her brother Victor were the only two that had been able to keep serious for this long. And even with Raven's focus and goal in mind she still couldn't stop the fact that she was now no better than the rest of the guard party. If anyone heard of this they would give her grief until the end of her days.

Still her frustration shouldn't be allowing herself to get caught up emotionally with someone from here, she had to go back eventually and it would just lead to a heart break for both parties involved. She would have never guessed that this would become a problem since all of the townsfolk considered her weird for always reading and the fact that her hair and eye color was considered unnatural in this part of the world. She had been using that to her advantage, but no, he just had to come along and make her heart pound this loudly in her chest.

"Get a hold of yourself, Captain," she grumbled leaning her head back with a little more force than necessary against the back of the door. "Damn," she cursed rubbing the back of her head where a lump was quickly rising.

"Is that you Rae?" she heard a deep male voice call from somewhere near the back of the house.

Her brother Victor was the only one that was allowed to call her that name. It just so happened that was the name that got under her skin the most. Maybe that was why it bothered her so much to be around Richard. She sighed. She would sacrifice her feelings if it made her friendship with him last. Now she just had to go and tell him to never kneel before her again. Didn't he know that would blow her cover? Noble guards don't spend two years in a tiny cottage pretending to be poor peasants for no reason. She just hoped it wasn't the peasant form in proposing. She wasn't sure what she would do if he had feelings like _that_ for her.

She was almost positive that Richard knew who she was now. He had been dropping subtle hints for a while now. She sighed and shook her head. He was really too smart for his own good sometimes. Then again he might not have figured out and it could be _that_ problem. She refused to acknowledge it if that was the case. She had already promised that her feelings couldn't get involved with someone from here for several reasons.

"Yeah it's me," she called back out of her daze to her brother. She heard him rummaging around and then a loud bang in the background. Looks like she was wrong, he was in the basement.

"Can you help me out here? I'm having some trouble with this invention," he sounded positively irate, and as much as she wanted to refuse to finish her book she loved helping her brother out with his projects. It was often a good time they used together to bond. Besides she wasn't sure if she could wrap her head around a book at the moment anyways.

"Raven! Hurry up!" he called.

"Coming Victor. Hold your horses," she called back, hearing him swear loudly from the basement. She chuckled to herself a little as she grabbed a tool box near the door and made her way down to him.

The wagon was upside down and her brother's legs were sticking out from underneath it. The first time she had ever seen this scene it had scared her. She had thought that he was trapped beneath it and freaked out. She had pushed it and it had cracked a wheel bearing which landed on her brother and given him a nasty scar up one of his arms. She couldn't help but feel guilty every time she saw his arm. He normally covered it up though; he could tell when she was sending guilty looks at his arm. He always told her not to worry about it, that he was just glad to be able to use his limbs still so he could work. She supposed she should feel thankful for that but a ping of remorse always shot through her when she saw that nasty scar.

"Rae, can you pass me that dohicky?" her brother's gruff voice asked interrupting her from her thoughts. Wordlessly she handed him the tool he had pointed too. It was nearly impossible for her to tell what tool was what when he often referred to them as 'dohickys', that 'thingymabob' and just 'that thing'. Not that it bothered her but she would never be able to help another soul with inventing something. She grinned to herself as she sat down cross legged next to him as he worked.

"So you left earlier?"

"Mhhmmm. With Richard," she told him.

She could practically hear his frown as he let out a deep breath of air.

"He's a handsome fellow. Just be careful Rae."

"I will don't worry. I haven't forgotten my duty as a guard," she said feeling a laugh bubble over her. It was weird; it was almost like she had admitted she liked Richard just by telling her brother she had been on a walk with him.

"I'll have to give him a talking to over drinks later," Victor grumbled under his breath. He rolled out from under his contraption to send her a piercing look and shook his head slowly as he read her facial features.

"A talking to over what?" Raven asked feeling like teasing her older brother.

"About his intentions with you. You can't be that blind Rae. I know you don't talk to the townsfolk but even they can see it."

"See what?"

A sigh was all she got back in response.

After that short conversation the two siblings worked together in silence for the rest of the night. As the candle light became more hazardous to work in Raven insisted that they call it quits for the night.

"You'll have time to work on it tomorrow," she told him as she grabbed his ankles and yanked him out from under the wagon like contraption. It hardly looked like a wagon now but she wasn't sure what to call it.

"I have to leave tomorrow afternoon!" he exclaimed making a wild grab for something to hold on to as his sister pulled him out.

"You need rest!" she insisted as she finally managed to get him to the door way. With a swift kick she had him jumping up and away from her and dashing into the other room. She wasn't sure what she would do without his childish antics some times. She shook her head grinning as she shut the door to the basement behind her.

She would miss her brother while he was gone for his inventor's convention the next week and a half.

Oh well she supposed she could manage on her own for that time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So what do you guys think? **TheMaskedShuppeteer **has been exteremly awesome and encouraged me to write this even if it meant a delay in another story she wants to see me finish. I think I was pretty good at double checking myself this time around but no beta for this story. If you want to offer your services that would be much appreicated ;).


	2. Complaining

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Two: Complaining**

"Raeeeee," Garfield whined as he let his body fall dramatically over the barrel he had been standing on.

"You never let us take any breaks. It's not fair that _he _gets to go," he pouted kicking his legs out.

Overall the effect made her eye twitch. He was such a child.

"One don't call me Rae I'm your _Captain_ and two you let Kori sneak out a year ago with Richard," she hissed out in reminder feeling her head throb ever so slightly at the memory. Another reason why she shouldn't be talking to Richard anyways, the list was slightly growing. As long as she could stay away from him her thoughts were clearer.

"So that means I don't get a break ever? I mean Christ… I hate shoveling horse shit. Maybe if I wasn't so tired all the time I could keep a better watch."

It was surprising that for once his argument seemed to make sense… a little bit. Still her eye hadn't lost the twitch. She guessed that it was his tone of voice; it was just a habit that had been forced to develop. Not everyone could cope with the constant whining of a fifteen year old boy.

"I don't even understand why we have such a young guard," she said rubbing her temples. Her eyes were getting sorer by the moment and further contributing to her headache. Maybe it was his unsightly blond hair that seemed to have an unnatural green tint to it.

"Because I'm awesome and you guys wouldn't know what to do without me. Besides you aren't that much older than me," he said instantly perking up and rolling over so that he was propped up on the barrel now.

"Is the horse ready?" she asked feeling her tone get colder by the second. She was surprised she was able to withstand hitting him most days.

"Yes _Captain_," he said sarcastically and mocked saluted her.

Hitting him would just be so pleasurable. It would be a dirty sin to give in to it. She tried to make her fist relax as she closed the space between them to glare down at him with a threat in her eyes.

"Not only are you inexperienced, but you have an awful habit of almost blowing our cover no matter what you do. _Stable boy_," she hissed, reminding him of his low status, she aimed a kick at him that he easily jumped away from. They heard the loud chatter of the other stable boys nearby which caused him to at least not whine about how mean his captain was, most of them weren't under their control. _Thank god_. She wasn't sure what she'd do if she was in charge of all of these idiots.

"Now then. I'll work it into the rotation so you can have a break after Victor gets back from his vacation, until then you remain on horse shit duty," she whispered snatching the reins of a large draft horse that he offered. The horsed seemed to bulk for a moment, scarred of the sudden movement but it calmed down and nickered happily when it recognized Raven.

Sighing in relief as she finally exited the small cramped building of the farm house as she led the horse towards the main quarters. The air seemed clear today, and it seemed like a good day to travel. It hadn't rained since the last cold had washed through the village so the roads should be clear of mud. Perfect, Victor should have no problems setting out. As long as it didn't rain on his return then he should be back within two weeks.

"Good morrow, Rae."

The last person she wanted to see at the moment. Although their friendship was young and underdeveloped she wanted at the moment nothing more than to kick Richard and run. What a nightmare he had caused her a year ago. How could she have forgiven him so easily? She sighed training her thoughts to the present situation. She could dwell on that later, right now she couldn't afford to be distracted. She needed to help Victor get ready to go.

"Good morrow," she responded stiffly and kept walking. The horse snorted, as if he agreed that Richard would be a waste of time at the moment.

"Woah woah, Rae. That's it? Just a good morrow?" he teased hoping off the picket fence he had been resting on to jump in front of her path, effectively blocking her and the horse from proceeding any further.

"Yes. Now move," she growled feeling her teeth mash together as she grinded them in irritation.

"Alright," he said easily and made an exaggerated sweeping bow. She side stepped him, choosing to ignore the fact that he was mocking her as she guided the horse forward. Not before Richard's hand shot out like a rocket and pulled her to his chest.

"This is better though," he purred circling his other hand around her waist.

She melted. Captain of the Princess's guard melted like chocolate on a hot summer's day in his arms. She felt a blush steal over her face and warmth spread throughout her body. She would have leaned into his embrace if the horse hadn't bulked jolting her back to reality.

"Play boy," she seethed jumping in one fluid motion to the horse's back.

Without so much as another word she urged the horse on, ignoring the look of hurt that was plastered on Richard's face. How dare he make her out for such a common girl and grab her in public like that? She wasn't his wife, nor was she a common whore so that situation had been completely uncalled for. In the span of not even five seconds he had undone her. All those months in his company must have made her weak, and as Captain of a Royal Guard she could not allow such weaknesses for herself.

This was it. No more seeing Richard. She couldn't handle it. She would avoid him at all costs no matter what it took. She couldn't be swooning like a school girl. She had seen the damage he had done to her Princess so why had she even allowed herself to be close to him? Was it those captivating blue eyes? Or that jet black hair that gave him such a dashing noble look? Whatever the case was, this was dangerous. She couldn't be allowed it, because she didn't deserve it. She was the Captain of the Guard and that would always come first. She nodded to herself trying to steal away her heart.

Why was liquid running down her face?

()()()()()()()()()

"Friend I wish to travel with Victor."

Deathly silence met this statement. No one moved and it seemed like no one even let the air escape between their lips afraid that it would make too much noise.

"That isn't a good idea Kori," Raven said eyeing her friend.

The princess was sitting with her back straight, the perfect posture. It wasn't surprising but Kori often times didn't speak with such an authoritive voice, especially since it was a request. She had purposely made herself appear more regal for this request as if it would affect its outcome. Raven tried not to let the grimace take over her face. Kori made a motion that dismissed the other guards present leaving only Raven and herself. The air in the room seemed to grow thicker as they stared each other down. This spelled bad news no matter what angle it was approached.

First of all Kori was under her charge and no matter what she did it was her job to make sure the princess was safe. Leaving with Victor to go out of town could spell hundreds of problems but then again so would staying and making her miserable. Over the past few months Kori had been recovering from her tragic heart break with the people closest to her, it was no big surprise that she found comfort with Victor and that feelings were starting to arise… but Victor was a member her guard and he was not supposed to encourage the princess with her feelings. Why did these two have to find these feelings for each other? That being said, Kori was also her friend and she liked to see her happy, that was just as important as safety at times. Wasn't it? Kori could act rashly when she wanted something to go her way and it would potentially lead to a long two weeks or longer if Victor wasn't here to comfort her.

"Reasons?" Kori asked flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. It looked regal; it caught the light just right, because she had planned this conversation. She was sitting behind the window so the light was giving her an almost angelic appearance as the light reflected off her red hair. She was wearing one of her better dresses and her posture was ramrod straight for once. She had obviously spent a lot of time on her appearance today.

"You'd be without most of your guard for one," Raven said growling and trying not to get frustrated. She might not be the most feminine girl on the planet but she tried to look at things from Kori's prospective a lot of the time. Kori was after all her only female friend, and she counted the princess as her friend even if she wasn't supposed to. Maybe that was why Victor had thought it was okay to strike up whatever romance they had going.

"I'd be safe with Victor. I trust him," she said confidently but her body language said otherwise. She looked down at her nails avoiding Raven's eyes.

"It isn't about whether you trust him or not. If some freak accident were to happen no one else would be there to help you," Raven pointed out knowing that it would take some time for her friend to see reason.

"Well… I… we could bring Garfield," she said stammered.

Raven felt like slamming her head on the table.

"No," she growled. She wouldn't even get in to why they couldn't take Garfield he would be the last person she send with the two lovers. God only knew what could happen then. That and Garfield and her brother were a bit too irresponsible together. They would get wrapped up in each other with some stupid argument and then something could easily happen to Kori. Not that Kori was defenseless; the girl was just a bit too trusting.

"Malchior would have let me go," Kori huffed in frustration.

That was a punch below the belt. Raven felt her face twist into a visible grimace this time, as Kori gasped and began apologizing profusely.

"I'm not Malchior," Raven said feeling a dull throb in her chest. She was used to it by now; it didn't hurt any more… sort of. She would come to terms with that later, right now her priority was stopping Kori from putting herself in potential danger.

"Look Kori, I know you are going to miss him, but he won't be gone long. I'm sure when he comes back he'll have all sorts of interesting things to tell you," Raven offered awkwardly not really sure what it was she should say.

At her words Kori's eyes became a waterfall. As much as she hated showing affection she knew her friend needed it right now. Slowly she stood up and crossed the room, offering her arms out in embrace for the younger girl.

()()()()()()()()()()

"She said his name," she whispered.

She looked incredibly vulnerable at the moment. Her eyes were hidden as she leaned forward and her hair spilled out blocking them from his view. Her shoulders hunched over in defeat as her hands went up to hold her head. She was sitting in a position of a man in defeat. Something he knew a little about himself. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to her. He wanted to pull her into a hug and tell her that everything would be okay, but something was stopping him. Whatever had happened this morning between them really seemed to strain the air. He couldn't sit still like this, but he had to be patient, one thing he had learned from Raven was patience.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly as he saw a few tears splash unto the ground.

"I'm fine!" she snapped clenching her legs to her chest as a strangled noise escaped her throat. "There's another reason I'm here," she managed to get out after a few more moments of strained silence.

He wanted patiently for her to compose herself as she seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say.

"I can't see you anymore," she mumbled out as she sat up straight to look him dead in the eye.

He felt his heart crash loudly into the pit of his stomach. He felt the protest on his lips being silenced by her finger before he even had a chance to open them.

"You know who I am," she said calmly.

He nodded. He had caught on to the whole captain thing when he had eavesdropped on her and Garfield one day. It was just after the _incident_ with Koir, and he was curious. He couldn't help it in in all honesty. It wasn't one of his prouder moments but he had just wanted to know the truth of what was going on with her. That and he might have had thought that at the time something was going on between Garfield and Raven.

"Then you should know that this can't be allowed. You were there the day we got rid of my pervious captain. You know the situat-" she sucked in a deep breath catching herself.

"We can't see each other anymore, plain and simple. I have a duty I must fulfill," she whispered as she grabbed his hands and squeezed them lightly within her own.

"Friends?" he asked feeling his voice croak unnaturally. He couldn't stand the thought of her leaving. It just wasn't acceptable. He couldn't let her go.

She shook her head sadly in response.

"I'm afraid I can't," she whispered.

Why was she whispering? Was she scared that by raising her voice she might actually let out some emotions for once? For a split second he felt anger grip him and he wanted to yell at her. He wanted to say she was a stupid girl and he couldn't get why she was doing this to them. Only he did know why. He sighed and felt his head dip down. He couldn't met her eyes anymore, this hurt too much.

"As you wish," he felt himself saying.

()()()()()()()()()()

"Will you be okay while I'm gone?" Victor asked shaking her from her thoughts.

She grinned at him, something that was normally a rare sight but was reserved for her friends and family. At least she couldn't be cold to them _all_ the time.

"I'll be fine, but… Victor… when you get back we need to talk," she said lowering her voice and taking a step closer to her brother. She hated when they sent someone off everyone had to gather. It was like they were preparing to never see him again. She hated that. She didn't want to think about never seeing him again. And she refused to say goodbye, she would see him again.

"'Bout what?"

She felt her eyes narrow in accusation at that innocent question. If no one else had been around she would have his ear torn off and handed to the pigs for such a stupid question. He knew damn well '_bout what'_ she was referring to. She jerked her thumb discreetly over her shoulder to point to a white faced Kori.

Her brother's dark skin ever so slightly lightened a shade at the gesture.

"What did she do?" he asked his voice thick with concern.

"Well for one she definitely gave you away in front of half the guards," Raven bristled.

Victor groaned and smacked his head lightly against the wagon in frustration.

"Anyways I said when you get back we'll talk," she said pushing him towards the front of the cart.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to worry about getting your ear chewed off when you get back home," he grumbled under his breath but loud enough for her to hear. Her fist cuffed the back of his head.

"OW!" he yelped jumping up on the wagon before she could do anymore damage. A lump was starting to rise on the back of his head, which he was now rubbing tenderly.

"See you in two weeks," Raven called out laughing as she gave the horse a nice slap on the rump to get going.

"Later Rae," Victor called cheerfully as the horse jolted forward. "Easy boy, we've got my precious baby we're carrying," he lectured the horse as it went over a rough patch in the road.

Everyone else ran forward chasing him down the road, laughing and calling out goodbyes. And with that her brother soon became a spot on the distant horizon.

She sighed, for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. As much as she loved her brother life would be easier without him around for the next two weeks. Namely because she wouldn't have to babysit his every move around the Princess. She sighed. Good thing she had talked to Richard early, that made her feel a little better about the situation. At least she wasn't doing the same thing.

"So Raven, have you worked on rotating that schedule yet?" Garfield asked suddenly appearing by her side.

"Hmm? What? Oh no… not yet Gar. Give me a little bit. It's nice to have someone on the inside of the stables to know what's going on with our regular hands. I need to figure who I can switch you with and-"

"Don't switch me," he said his green eyes flashing with serious intent for once.

"I thought that was the whole point?"

She seriously would wind up beating the crap out of him if he didn't want to be switched anymore. She had found someone who had the potential to trade places with him and cause the least amount of rift within their forces.

"No. I'm tired of being a stable boy and not getting and change of scenery other than horse ass as I shovel their shit," he grumbled looking annoyed as he eyed her out of the corner of his eye.

"Same thing," Raven growled.

"Not really since we need a man on the inside of the stables. You know as well as I do that we can't lose an opposition anywhere within our grounds."

She nodded absentmindedly. Where was he going with this exactly?

"So instead of switching me… just promote me?" he faced her fully then and lowered his eyes to give her his perfected puppy dog look.

_God dammit,_ as much as she hated to admit it but that look actually worked on her, and his offer made sense. It kept him in the stables with ears wide open for any information but gave him a nice change of pace. Depending on where she placed him. She couldn't exactly have him as a master of the stable now, especially since he was so young.

"I'll see what I can do," Raven said placing a hand on her younger friend's shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze of reassurance. She was the Captain, she did care for all of her men, she wouldn't let him go on being miserable for too long.

"You have shift tonight," she reminded him as she walked away, "as long as you don't screw up you can have the day off tomorrow."

She smiled as she heard him laugh and grab the nearest girl next to him and pull her into a hug. It was just him and her of the guard for the next two weeks; it was going to be a long two weeks.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I don't have much to say other than I don't own the Teen Titans and thanks to everyone who has reviewed. So far it sounds like you all are enjoying it. Raven and Jason meet soon, are you guys excited? I sure am. Good thing I already wrote it. You guys have to wait a week though... because I'm evil ;) mwahahahahaha. If I get 10 reviews for this chapter I'll post it a few days eariler. Yup... I'm blackmailing you guys. How does that feel? :D


	3. Rescue

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Three: Rescue**

She didn't exactly count Terra as a guard. For one all the girl did was sit on her ass in the house and clean up after Kori. Although Kori helped, the young princess was far from being able to take care of herself. She couldn't cook and when she did it normally meant that half of the house hold was sick for the rest of the night, she could clean up after herself but things were often misplaced and frustrated the rest of them.

She didn't mind Terra at first. The king had sent them all here together. Kori the Princess, Garfield the Stable Boy, Victor the Strategist, Malchior the Captain of the Guard, Terra the Handmaid, and herself the Doctor, were the original group sent by the king to watch over his daughter. They were all personal servants to the crown, each with five subordinates under them except for Garfield. The rest of the people that lived with them were locals or people they hired from other towns to run the property they bought. The forces within their troops could easily be infiltrated so the original five kept a close eye on each field that was close to the princess. With Malchior now gone it stretched their forces even thinner than they were to begin with plus the fact that Raven couldn't bring herself to trust Terra though.

Malchior had, after a year of undercover work, proven himself a traitor. He encouraged Kori's romance with Richard and let them out of the grounds unattended while lying to the rest of them about her whereabouts. He had used Raven to get Terra jealous and have them fight with one another. His original want of the position to protect Kori had come from the fact that he was going to sell her over to the very man that was hunting her down and trying to kill her before she became of age. Over all, his rule as Captain of the guard had been a nightmare. He had been stopped, with the help of Richard, which had led to Raven's friendship with him. But that was beside the point. Terra had picked up a few of Malchior's _qualities_ and Raven couldn't help but feel uneasy around the girl.

The feelings that Malchior had left behind had never quiet left Terra or Raven. Often times, when left alone together they would excuse themselves or just flat out ignore each other. Raven never briefed her on her duties, she would refuse to spend time with Kori if Terra was present, and she found herself often times wondering if duty would be any easier if she just sucked up her pride and asserted herself for once. She was the Captain now, by the King's approval she was in charge of the guard. Still that didn't change the fact that Raven didn't trust Terra.

At the moment she was exhausted, sitting underneath Kori's door with a blanket draped over her shoulders. She would have been in Kori's room sleeping with the young girl in a 'sleep over' had Terra not been in there. She heard the giggles erupt from the room and hushed whispers and then another fit of giggles. She felt her eyes close in frustration as a frown formed on her lips. She was pretty sure she had just heard her brother's name and the words 'go for it'.

She was about to knock on the door and say something when she paused. What was the real reason she didn't want Kori and Victor together? Simply because they didn't fit or that deep down she was scarred that something might happen to her brother and she wouldn't be able to fix it? She sighed stopping her hand before it reached the wood door. He might not be her blood related brother but she still cared for him, that and she didn't want her charges to do something that Malchior had done. How could she forgive herself if she lost Victor because he and Kori had a bad break up? Not only would she be losing her brother but she'd be losing one of her best guards. She was torn on knocking on the door again when she saw a glimmer of light outside the window.

That was odd, who was up at this time of night?

Leaping up without a sound so as to not disturb the two giggle girls she made her way over to the window. She discreetly peeked out of the window as she tugged back on the curtain, giving herself just enough room to peer out.

Garfield was running towards the house, a look of pure panic on his face as he came stumbling out from the barn. A lantern swung dangerously back and forth on his arm as he raced closer to the house.

_What now?_ She thought to herself as a groan escape her lips. She shot down the stairs and bounded down the hallway. She would meet him before he pounded loudly on the door and woke everyone up.

"What is it Garfield?" she asked as he came dashing up to her.

His face was pale and his eyes were blurry as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. His clothes were rumbled and a few things of hay were sticking out of his greenish hair.

"The- the hor… the horse… victor… had," he panted leaning over his legs trying to catch his breath.

"The horse victor had what about it?" she asked, her brows furring together.

"It came… it came back… without a rider."

It took her about five seconds to fully process the information Garfield had just given her. She found her legs dashing towards the barn as her thoughts raced in her head. Unsurprisingly Garfield was keeping up with her.

"I'm going after him," she said firmly and he nodded his face paling even more at the thought of being left alone and in charge by himself.

"You have full responsibility of the house and Kori," she continued before she paused and whipped around to face him. "Gar… I know you can do it," and then she gave him a genuine smile. He could do it. He wouldn't mess up if he had real responsibility on his shoulders.

"What do I tell Kori?"

Damn, her thoughts had not quiet reached that level yet. What did they tell Kori? That her lover was in potential danger and that her best friend was riding off to save him?

"I have business with my mother and will return as soon as I can," Raven said smoothly as she pulled back the doors to the barn.

She dashed towards the nearest horse, which just so happened to be the horse that Victor had left with and kicked him fiercely into action. She didn't look back as Gar asked questions for guidance as panic began to set in for him. She didn't have time to be patient or hard on him. He just needed to act, just like she was.

"You can do it Garfield. I trust you," she told him as he slowly lost speed to keep up with the horse.

"Hang in there Victor. I'm coming," she whispered to herself as she leaned over the horse. Her eyes narrowed on the road before her as trees began to swish past.

()()()()()()()()

"Are you sure this is it?" she asked the horse. It rolled its eyes and snorted while sending out a kick.

"Okay, okay. Just checking," Raven grumbled as she dismounted.

It looked like a scene out of a book. Spanish moss draped over the iron rungs in the gate, and dead trees covered the area. Leaves blew haphazardly across the stone path, and the air was thick with fog. A dark castle, stood tall before her sending off the vibe of forbidden and danger.

It was like she had just stepped into a dream. She so badly wanted to dash forward and explore the area of this castle but she kept herself in check. This was the last place Victor had been seen, according to a horse… which she was listening to. She shook her head sadly as she studied the field and felt a gasp escape her when she saw a piece of his cloak on the rung on one of the bars. Had he jumped the damn fence to get in?

She approached and tested the fence. It squeaked in protest causing her to cringe and the horse to roll its eyes in fear. She reached out with her hand to steady it the typical calming words easing him. There was a thick padlock that prevented the fence from budging.

"Victor?" she called out her voice bouncing off the walls and vibrating throughout the ground. She strained her ears for some type of response. None came. He would have to be inside the thick walls of the castle to miss her voice carrying out over the grounds. She sighed. So he really had jumped the fence.

The padlock that covered the gate was thick with rust, with a simple kick it collapsed and gave way to her. She pulled open the gate with a little effort since it was heavy and the squeal it let out grinned against her ear drums causing her to cringe slightly. Once open she guided the horse into the lawn. It was oddly well kept. The grass was cut low, and the flowers were pruned for the coming winter. It was disturbing, something wasn't right. There were vines of ivy crawling along the gate in places but it seemed almost planned. This place screamed abandonment but it was too well kept, at least at ground level. She wanted to explore some more but she didn't have the time for that. She had to find Victor.

She shut the gate behind her, cringing as it made the same high pitched noise as it slammed shut. Its thundering shutter vibrated throughout the grounds.

If anyone was within the castle with her brother they would surely know of her presence now. Readying herself for any possible situation Raven led the horse further into the grounds. She stopped short of the castle door and looked back at it for a moment.

"Well it's now or never," she said knocking on the door.

No reply.

"Hello?" she tried again using just a little more force than necessary.

The door slowly cracked open, revealing a dark hallway. There was no light. She stepped in not even the slightest bit disturbed by the fact that she could hardly see her hand in front of her face.

"Hello?" she called out again when she thought she heard a few whispers. Was that just her imagination?

"Victor? I've come for you. Hello?"

She took a few steps further into unknown territory. She drew her cloak that rested around her shoulders over into her grip, drawing it firmly around her body. For whatever reason, she always felt better with a cloak. Her head whipped around as she thought she heard a few whispers this time. She was positive she had heard the words 'girl' 'spell' and 'Victor'.

"Please he's my brother. Can someone take me to him?" she asked feeling frustration settle into her voice. There were people hear whispering, surely someone could show her where her brother was.

"Right this way, Miss."

A familiar voice answered but no one to be seen in the dark room. Suddenly there was a light in the far corner of the room, and it was ascending up the stairs it had lit up.

"Wait!" she heard herself command but whoever had the light and had talked to her was quickly leaving. She felt herself trip over objects that were sprawled across the room as she dashed towards the stair way.

It seemed like it took hours to climb the stairs. Whenever she would get close to the person they would speed up and she would almost lose their trail. She had settled in a steady pace, following the light as she climbed the stairs in some unknown castle. She couldn't help but let her fingers trail down to the knife that was secured around her belt, it made her feel more secure.

The light suddenly stopped and she was just about to dash after them when the voice spoke again.

"Leave any weapons on the floor. We'll know if you have them on you," it said coldly. She was pretty sure it was male from the sound of it, but there was a thick accent and an almost metallic ring to it. Those factor's accounted for she wasn't sure how she should address the person she was dealing with.

Unsure of what could happen, since this now seemed to be a hostage situation, Raven did as she was told and unstrapped her weapons belt and placed it carefully on the floor.

She heard a scuffling noise, and a door creak open.

"Hello?"

This time the voice was extremely familiar. She raced forward, not caring what would happen to her if she ran into the man that had led her here. She had just heard her brother's voice.

"Victor!" she yelled as she finished climbing the stairs.

She grabbed a burning candle that happened to be close by. The room was small and whoever had led her here had no room to hide but still one was to be seen but her brother chained to the floor. He was sitting with his legs crossed on top of a pile of straw but he looked like it took a lot of effort. She placed the candle on the floor as she approached him and despite the situation gave him a large hug. He squeezed her back just as fiercely breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Rae! You shouldn't be here. You have to get out. This is something beyond our training-"

"You're freezing. Your hands feel like ice," she scolded, cutting him off.

This wasn't beyond her training as a guard or as a doctor; she wasn't sure what he was talking about. She pulled off her cloak and draped it around his shoulders, using her hands to cause friction along his spine and chest while he rubbed his arms. The chains that tethered him to the ground were rattling loudly as he did so. His lips were blue and his teeth were chattering violently. He had a nasty cut going along the side of his face and one of his eyes was swollen shut. He was in awful condition, and she needed to start treating him now.

"I need medical supplies. I'll take whatever you got," she said sternly turning around.

It unnerved her when all that met her eyes was darkness. Where was the person that had led her here? Why had he still not shown himself?

"Rae… Rae this place is encha-" Victor started coughing violently, cutting himself off.

"Please I need supplies. Anything! Blankets! Please can't you see he's dying?" she heard herself pleading to the darkness as if by some miracle there would be someone to answer. There was something extremely off about this place.

She felt her brother's cold hands catch her face and turn her to face him.

"Rae. Listen to me. There's not much time. You have to get out of here before the Beast shows up," he whispered. His eyes were alight with a flame of brotherhood protectiveness.

"Whoever did this to you is surely a beast but I can handle them," she said sternly as she starting studying the wound on his face.

"You don't get it," he sounded frustrated as he winced when her finger's grazed his wound.

"I'm a real Beast," a deep voice from behind them answered.

She would have felt fear rippling down her spine had she been a normal girl but Raven was no such weakling. She straightened her back and stood up, protectively shielding her brother from view.

The shadow that met her sight towered in the door way just out of the reach of the candle light that lay abandoned at her feet. There was a twinkle of reflection near the top of the doorway; eyes that couldn't be made out were staring at her.

"Who are you?" she growled, squinting to make him out better. It was probably some random mountain bandit looking for money.

"The Master of this castle," he purred a deep rumble in the back of his throat.

Raven restrained herself from snorting or from rolling her eyes. _Criminals_, they always thought they were hot stuff.

"Master or not this is illegal," she said gesturing to her brother on the ground.

"So? What's a tiny little bird like you going to do about it?"

"Kick your ass," she hissed.

"Do you have time for that? He looks pretty weak," the shadow said gesturing to her brother as he sat back down.

She chewed her lip. She needed this man because it was her brother's only hope for surviving the hypothermia that was starting to set it. He needed treatment immediately; she didn't have time to fight.

"No he doesn't have time," she admitted, feeling torn on whether or not she could even ask this man for assistance.

"You should leave," he said nonchalantly as his shadow turned around.

"You won't release him?"

"No!" the man responded his voice loud and nearing the roar of some animal. She felt her eyes narrow.

"Why not? Can't you see his dying?"

"Then he shouldn't have trespassed!"

She didn't have time for this pointless arguing. Every minute spent talking was a minute that Victor could be losing vital time spent healing him. She had one last choice, a choice she would never do for anyone else but him.

"Please help him! I'll do anything to save him!" she reached out as she fell to her knees. She would do anything for her brother, even if it meant begging. She felt her face contort in disgust as she bowed her head to hide the look. She could do this.

"Raven! No!" she heard Victor protest. This wouldn't be his last words to her. She would save him no matter what the cost. She wasn't about to let him die when she had the power to save him.

"Anything?" the man questioned as his eyes gleamed in the light. His silhouette seemed larger now as he edged his way into the room.

"Anything," she agreed, raising her head slightly and peering at him with interest. Was it just her or did this man sound hopeful at her offer?

"Then you'll take his place and stay here forever," the man said calmly almost as if he expected her to protest.

"Deal," she said sticking out her hand without the slightest hesitation.

She didn't flinch as a hairy hand larger than her own enveloped her entire hand and shook it quickly before dropping it. She stared at the creature in front of her as he bent down to unchain her brother. She didn't feel an ounce of regret as Victor encircled his arms around her and she felt warm tears slid down on her face. She didn't regret anything as he was pulled from her and forced out of the room. She had completed her mission. Her brother would be safe.

"RAVEN!" her brother howled, his voice echoing back up to her.

She couldn't stand anymore as the weight of what she had done began to set in. She didn't regret it but it was still something she could never undo. She had just traded away her freedom. Her legs buckled beneath her and she felt herself fall to the spot her brother had once occupied. No more dreams of traveling the world and healing sickness. She wouldn't be allowed that.

"Raven! You can't be this self-sacrificing! No!"

A few curses and maybe a sharp kick exchanged. Someone stumbled a few steps and loudly cursed.

"Raven!"

The sound of a sharp slap across a face greeted this call out to her. Raven felt herself cringe. His face already had enough damage. He just needed to accept her fate and keep going. It was his only chance for survival.

"We need you! RAVEN!"

She heard scuffing and a snarl, and maybe a curse or two. Eventually she could tell the Beast had won in his struggle to take her brother elsewhere and that her brother was no longer here. She felt tears slide along her face with renewed vigor. She would have wanted a better goodbye than the one they had just shared.

"Goodbye Victor," she whispered as she stared at the wall blankly, the tears long gone but still frozen to her face. Now she had to figure out what to do in a freezing prison cell for the rest of her life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I can not tell you how many times I proof read this chapter. I'm sick of it. Glad it's written and done with. **_PLEASE_** let me know if you find any mistakes. I would really like to know. Mostly to see how well my proof reading ability is, that and I want to stab out my eyes if I did miss anything. Just kidding about that last part. I wouldn't. Anywho... I hope this chapter was enjoyed. Same blackmailing theory as before. 10 reviews for this** _chapter_ **and I'll update faster... because I have the next chapter written ;). It sorta pays off to write so much in advance. I find it helps me keep a plot in check.


	4. Bars and Dungeons

**Acceptance **

**Chapter Four: Bars and Dungeons**

One Year Ago- Flashback of _that_ night:

There was no wind. It was disturbing. The air itself seemed too quiet and it unnerved him. He looked at Kori. Her bright red hair was reflecting beautifully in the moonlight, and her green eyes seemed like stars shinning. However her beauty wasn't making his heart thunder in his chest. She was a noble, something forbidden to a peasant, but there wasn't an attraction to her for him anymore. He needed to explain this to her. He needed to stop this before he wrecked this poor girl's heart.

Lately he had found that while she was beautiful and full of life and joy she was just too… over the top for him. She was naïve and trusting, and he found it bothersome to have to always look out for her when he took her out. She could pack a mean punch but that didn't mean anything if a gang of robber's grabbed her because she willingly followed them to camp because they said they wanted to be friends. He sighed which caused Kori to look up at him. Her eyes searching his for something, he wasn't quite sure what.

"Look Kori I wanted to talk to you alone because-"

He blushed when she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. He might have good intentions to save her heart from heart break but he was a male. He couldn't help but let her kiss him but he restrained himself. He didn't kiss her back, he wanted patiently for her to pull herself away, trying his hardest to fight the blush and the sheepish feeling he felt. She wasn't bad at that.

"I know Richard. I feel the same way," she beamed. Her own blush covered her face and her eyes were light and happy.

Oh shit. Oh _double_ shit. This was not what he wanted to happen. She obviously thought he felt some type of feeling for her when he just wanted them to go back to being friends.

"Kori, what I meant was-"

"Good evening," a deep voice said from behind them.

Out of instinct Richard jumped in front of Kori and placed his arm out protectively. That was just being a gentleman wasn't it? He did drag her out here to talk to him. He felt Kori grab the fabric of his tunic as she pressed herself closer to his back. Her breath ghosted against his ear causing him to shiver slightly.

"Who's there?" he called out demandingly.

There was a shuffling noise in the trees before a shadow was shown.

"Who's there?" he called out again. He felt frustration starting to mount. Was this a friend or a foe?

"Malchior!"

It was the girl that was always keeping Kori inside doing something so that she wasn't with him. He felt a flash of irritation come as she bounded up the path towards them. Her weird purple hued hair pulled back from her face. She looked worried and she hadn't yet spotted them. She had just called out that name, as if she was searching for that person. A person that might be stepping out of the shadows to glare daggers at her as she approached. This situation just screamed off. Wasn't Malchior, Kori's cousin, and in charge of the farm? And this girl, Raven, wasn't she one of Kori's tenants?

The man stepped out of the shadows and let out an audible sigh.

"Raven," he answered back coolly so that she stopped in her tracks. It took her a second to register that there were three people before her, not just one. Two of the people were less than three feet from her.

"I was so worried," she breathed out, but an easy smile now splayed on her lips as she stretched out a hand to Kori. "Come on Kori. We should head back. You shouldn't be out here with _him_."

Why was it that no matter what he did she seemed to look down on him? Kori wasn't that way and she was a noble. Raven was just a hired hand. He stopped Kori from stepping forward with an easy tug on her wrist. This just seemed off. Something was screaming danger, and he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Boy. Let the girl go."

Calm, cool and collected. That was everything that Malchior was, but there was an edge to his voice one that sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing.

As it was now he would risk hurting Kori's feelings than this potentially dangerous situation where she would literally get hurt. It wasn't unheard of for hires to kill their nobles and take all their money and belongings and head for the hills. He had been in such a situation back when he was a child. He felt his eyes narrow with mistrust, a feature he could never keep under control no matter how well he could keep his face clear of emotion. His eyes always gave him away.

"No," he whispered defiantly. "You can't have her just yet."

Raven seemed to be trying to piece things together. Her face pulled into a scowl as she sensed the tense air all around, feeling that something was off as well. The wheels in her head spinning rapidly. He could practically see it. Kori however, just looked flat out confused.

"Malchior. What is going on?" Kori asked looking back and forth between the two men.

Richard felt his hand slide down and tangle it within hers. He sent a gentle squeeze, one he hoped she wouldn't misinterpret.

"Well I was hoping Raven would take more time with Terra so I'd have a good alibi," he answered shrugging as he rolled up his sleeves. "Looks like I'll just have to kill all of you," he finished nonchalantly.

He could literally hear Raven grinded her teeth together and practically feel the searing heat that her eyes gave off. Was it just the moonlight or did she look like some sort of ethereal being?

"What do you mean kill us all, and _alibi_?" her voice was low, but the woods were deadly quiet. As if it expected some type of disturbance at any second. Most likely it would come from this girl who was radiating death at the moment, like she could kill with a simple utter of a word. He felt his own heart still in his chest in anticipation. This wasn't good.

"I'm selling off Kori of course. I set you up. Used you," Malchior was chuckling darkly as he took a steep forward causing Richard to step back. He was almost level with Raven now and Kori was safely behind them both.

He knew she was about to break. There was something going on here that was obviously a deep form of betrayal but he hadn't the slightest clue. All he knew was that it was pointless to give in to taunts and that was exactly what this man was trying to do to her. He was trying to set her into a frenzy, before she could think straight and make a plan. Without even realizing he did it his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist just as she was about to charge.

"Wait," he hissed lowly. Not sure why he was trying to keep his voice down, but he did anyways. It seemed like it had the desired effect on Raven, although she was still shaking with what he could only assume was blind rage. "It's what he wants. Think. Figure out all the details," he continued whispering as her muscles relaxed next to him.

"So you made both Terra and I believe that you loved us. Fed us lies about each other and then took a merry stroll by yourself waiting for the victor. Knowing that whoever won out would be your alibi that Kori was stolen… or something."

The man just nodded and he heard Raven give a slight 'Tsk' of annoyance. Her eyes reflecting the moonlight were narrowed. It was an odd assortment. To see the violet eyes narrowed with vicious intent, and the dark starry sky as her background. Her eyes seemed to shine out in the darkness, like some sort of beacon. Again she didn't look human; he couldn't help that thought as it popped up again. Was she some type of demon? Or maybe an angel?

"Can't have you guys telling the whole Kingdom that I sold her off to Slade and while I was at it have one of you kill the other one off. Possibly frame the kidnapping on you while you were carted off to jail for two serious charges. You didn't have the heart to kill her though, did you?" he said calmly but at the end he gave a slight chuckle.

Malchior seemed to be trying to taunt her even more like this was some type of weakness. He thought it was admirable, given the situation, that and Raven was too sweet of a person to do that, despite her cold demeanor. Maybe he hadn't looked at her closely enough before. There was something different about her, something special. Not everyone could be so noble, and he did know that was what had happened. She had been noble, it was clear now, the situation had called for her to kill the other girl but she had found some way to spare her. This man though was feeding into the fact that she hadn't done enough. He wanted to say something to encourage her but that could be saved for later. Something else had them all frozen staring at the man with disbelief.

Slade. The name seemed to send shivers down all their spines. The man of a thousand plots, schemes, slave trade, and murders. He was a rumored madman, a force that even the Kingdom had problems reckoning with. Kori gasped behind them and he found the sudden urge to protect her even more. He couldn't help but look at Raven though. A girl he knew would be hurting on the inside. She looked collected despite the fact that her fists were shaking again.

"I hate you," she snarled as she dashed out of Richard's reach to restrain her. He had a choice. Run and make sure Kori was safe, or fight and make sure that Raven won against this twisted man who was obviously playing on her emotions. Either way he looked at it he was helping them both. He never was much of a runner when it came down to it.

()()()()()()()()()()

Present Day -In the bar in town

He slumped over his drink feeling the alcohol slowly starting to take effect. His thoughts slurring back to the first night when he finally saw Raven as something else besides an annoyance. He sighed and took another deep swing from his mug. Enjoying the burning sensation the liquid offered as it slid down his throat.

He missed her. He hadn't seen her in nearly two weeks since Victor left. He didn't really stand a chance until Victor got back. By then he hoped to have a drink with the older brother and maybe beg him to reason with his sister to at least allow them to be friends. He couldn't stand this. This life where no one offered constant bickering reports, quick wit that kept up with his own, insanely wise advice, and company. As much as Raven tried to deny him they did wind up in each other's company a lot more than not. He sighed and felt his body take another sip out of his mug without his will really telling his hands to do anything.

It wasn't like him to drink away his problems. Really it wasn't. He just wasn't sure about how to act on the situation. If he did something too rash he could potentially damage his relationship with Raven forever and where exactly would that leave him? Alone and pathetically heart broken.

He took another deep swing feeling his vision start to rock violently like he was on a ship until it quickly faded to black.

()()()()()()()()()()

The tears were long gone, even the frozen ones that had been stuck to her face. She wasn't sure how long she had been up here. Ever since Victor had been taken away time seemed to temporarily blur together. She could have been up here for days, or it could have been mere hours. She couldn't tell. What was starting to get to her was the fact that there was nothing to do in this musty tower. There was no light despite the open windows, all those things did was let in a dreary breeze and an occasional snow flake from outside. The walls were barren and she tried not to study to closely because she was pretty sure the dark brown stains on the wall was either smeared feces or dried blood. She would prefer the later, for some reason that one was less disgusting to her.

She counted every breath she took, every blink she needed, and every time she thought she heard a distant roar in the castle. Her heart beat was calm and she felt extremely level headed. This was an extreme situation, this was the type of thing she exceled at. She tried to find a triumphant smirk that would scare the Beast when he came back. It was potentially something that would make him think she had an edge. She wasn't really sure what she was bluffing, but it could give her the upper hand to have her opponent over estimate her.

She was starting to plan, to see things clearly, as she sat alone in a cold tower. There would be no allies, no one to offer warmth or a blanket. She wanted to close her eyes but she was scared that if she fell asleep she would never be able to wake up. Whenever she died she did not want to die here. Alone, cramped in a freezing tower next to what she hoped was dried blood. She knew the option of dying surrounded by her friends at a very old age was permanently erased. It was better to never think of it. At the very least she wanted to die fighting. Victor was gone; either the Beast had saved him and sent him on his way or let him die. She didn't have time to be agonizing over it. Although she agreed to keep his place, she had only wanted him to escape. It didn't matter anymore. She wouldn't let her life be ruled by some unknown creature. She simply wouldn't allow it. She would rebel in any way she could until her life was claimed. That was a good strategy, forcing the enemy to kill her when he so badly wanted her to stay.

She heard the unmistakable sound of claws against stones coming from the stairway. She stared at it blankly. How the hell had she missed that sound when Victor was here? It was almost as loud as someone talking in a normal volume, which was still pretty loud since the stairs seemed to magnify everything and make things ten times louder than they really were.

She braced herself when she heard the noise at the top of the stairs and the flickering of the torch came through the door. Time to see what the Master of the castle really wanted with her. It was a pivotal moment of truth.

They stared each other down for a moment once he opened the door. He was standing on his two legs which were hunched over in an attempt to give himself more of a human posture. He had a tail which was swishing behind him in irritation, and his pointy ears were laid flat back against his head. He looked like he had stuffed on a coat to look presentable and it would have been laughable had she not seen the serious look that rested in his pale icy blue eyes.

"Well?" he huffed, his voice seeming louder than she remembered as it vibrated off the walls. She could have sworn a few pebbles that lay loose on the ground next to her shook from it.

"Well what?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and finally bringing herself to look away. It was now or never. She was sure he would dash across the room and strike her. All criminals hated getting cheek from their captives.

No stinging blow came. She felt herself ever so slightly peek under her eye lids to stare at him. He almost seemed to be smiling. It wasn't a kind smile but a mocking one. She felt herself bristle.

"You don't have to stay up here," he said calmly.

"I want to stay here," she said firmly. Her stomach growled. She was sure that with his ears he could hear it across the room.

"Then I'll send up some food," his voice seemed to lose that Beastly trait to it. It was odd. He almost sounded human.

"No. I'm not hungry."

For some reason the way he was looking at her made her feel like a child. Maybe she was being childish. She didn't really care. She had just come to terms with the fact that she was going to die, and she was going soon with a bloody fight.

She heard a light rumbling noise until she realized it was coming from the Beast and that he was laughing at her. She felt her cheeks light up in a blush.

"I'm not going to let you starve _and_ freeze. Pick one."

"Starve," she answered back immediately. Something about freezing to death just seemed more unappealing than starving. If she didn't get the opening to launch her little rebellion she would at least prefer to know if her hands and legs were working properly and not frozen stiff.

She heard that rumbling noise again in the back of his throat as he strode forward and lightly tugged her up to her feet. She was surprised and the sudden switch to standing after sitting down for so long had left her legs cramped. She winced and tried not to stumble as he began to lead her down the stairs without another word. She tried to keep herself as far from his body as possible, but the grip he had on her forced her to walk parallel with him down the stairs. She was constantly bumping into his side and feeling his fur brush against any exposed skin she had.

From the look of his fur she would have expected it to be course and unappealing to touch but it felt surprisingly soft and she was tempted to run her fingers through it. She stopped at the last minute thankfully.

She heard the rumble again and blushed. He just would not stop laughing at her.

"You're an interesting little bird," he laughed and again she heard a slightly more human characteristic to his voice.

This was undoubtedly the strangest situation she had ever been in her life. Suddenly the urge to run off and get killed by fighting nobly was less appealing. She wanted to learn more, a weakness that had never interfered with her before. What was going on here? How was it that this beast acted like a man? How come she had never heard or read about this sort of creature anywhere? How did he get Victor up in a tower and why? What were his plans for her?

The last thought gave her pause. In children's books the monster's always wanted to eat the beautiful girl, and she knew that most stories had at least some truth behind it. It was appalling. If she died is that what she would wind up as? Food for this monster? Eating seemed even less appealing now. She wasn't about to fatten herself up just to be eaten. She had to find some way to bring this monster down.

He led her down a few hallways. The ceilings towered above making her feel small, and the statues along the way seemed to be leering at her. The shadows cast by the simple torch in the Beast's hands gave the statues an even more realistic glow. She unconsciously took a step closer to him.

"Don't worry. They won't bite," he reassured. "I might."

The look on her face must've been something between disgust and fury. It must've been an odd mixture because the next thing she knew the Beast was laughing at her again.

"Stop laughing at me," she growled glaring up at him.

"Or else what?" the Beast asked a deep rumble in this throat. He drew himself to his full height and leered over her. As if that would intimidate her. She found a smirk grazing her lips.

"Or else I'll kick your ass," she replied. As easy as that. A statement they both knew she had been thinking from the moment she stepped within those doors. She was going to kick his ass. Hard.

There was a moment of complete silence, where both stared at each other. She wasn't sure who made the first leap into the air at the other. All she knew was that her heart was pounding furiously in her chest and that she was finally doing something useful since she got here. She was fighting. She felt a laugh escape her lips.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Wow. Your reviews are amazing. You guys rock. It would help if you were signed in to help answer questions. Don't worry, all, if not most of it will be explained in later chapters ;). Thanks to all of the reviews. I hope this answered your question about the bad guy **crazynerd**, and yes your hunch about that voice is important. Look for it in later chapters ;). I want to thank all of you guys personally and with a reply to all of the reviews but it's about 2 in the morning and my eyes are barely open. I'll just thank you by posting this chapter now. Same blackmail concept as always! 10 and you'll get the next chappie earlier. (although I still haven't reached that goal :P)


	5. Frienemy?

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Five: Frienemy? **

She felt like a beast herself. She snarled like one, she was pretty sure at one point she had bitten him, and drawn blood. She was fast, and she dodged nearly everything he threw at her. She might have underestimated him but this wasn't the time for corrections. This was a fight to the death and she would win.

He was fast, despite his hulking size. And his claws had racked her body a few times. She was sure she was an unrecognizable bloody heap but she would keep going until she couldn't any longer. He was on par with her though. Despite her getting hit but a few blows with his claws, she was dodging his sweeping punches and kicks almost as easily as he dodged hers.

Both leapt into the air again. She tried to flip in the air like she had seen him do to avoid a head on collision with him. Big mistake, bad mistake. The flip meant she had exposed her back to him, a dangerous move but sometimes it worked with an enemy that wasn't expecting it. She felt his hands grab her and swiftly restrain her hands behind her head as he brought her back to the ground. Her back was pressed firmly against the Beast's chest, and she felt the soft fur rubbing her backside through her clothes. It was almost relaxing, hearing his wild heartbeat and deep panting breaths. Both were panting roughly.

She closed her eyes and accepted defeat. He would kill her now and probably use her in some type of stew. It didn't matter what he did with her body, she didn't care. She just wished that he would get it over with and finish her already.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked after a few more moments of no finishing blow coming her way.

"Waiting for you to realize I'm not going to harm you," he answered but the rumbling in his chest that she was pressed against almost blocked out what he had to say. It was weird that this had a calming effect on her.

Now that she thought back on their recent fight he hadn't once been on the offensive, except maybe to make a grab at her. Did he really have no intention of hurting her? Then what was the point of keeping her here? He seemed to sense her confusion but he didn't offer any answers. Still she couldn't help but voice her confusion.

"Why?"

She felt his scoff and he slowly released her. She took a few steps away still exposing her back to him. Something dangerous of course, but a test. If she could walk with her back to him then she should be able to hold some degree of trust for him. As much as she didn't want to believe a word he was saying to her, she needed to figure out what his plans for her were. What she could expect to come. She wanted to know. Curiosity won over her. He didn't want to hurt her and wouldn't let her fight to the death so what could he possibly want her for? The castle looked clean despite its dreary look. He couldn't want her to clean for him or something else useless like that.

She grabbed a knife off the display on the wall and waited. Tossing it up in the air and catching it again with ease. A trick that Richard had taught her not to long ago. Nothing happened. He had ample time to chase after her and take the knife away. She had even given him her back, her weakness. She felt a growl bubble up in her throat as she turned to point the knife at him.

He eyed it with mild disinterest and she knew that from their little fight he could easily avoid it if he wanted to. She just felt better with it in her hands. She felt more threating and more in control with a tiny knife that separated her and the Beast.

"Answer me. Why? Why do you want me here?"

He just smiled, this time politely, and took a step forward. She sighed and placed the knife back in its place on the wall, knowing it was utterly useless against him anyways. Upon closer expectation this place was crawling with weapons as decorations. Some seemed out of place, from modern to time much older than anyone could remember. She could practically see the answer in his eyes. 'All in good time' they said but she wanted him to say it out loud. She felt a frustrated growl escape her as she took a challenging step forward.

"Come on little bird," his deep voice rumbled.

That was it. She hated him. He had caged her away from the world, and then just added salt to the wound by reminding her of it. He had just taken away all of her dreams, and hopes, and any future she would have had outside of these walls, all gone. She hated him. She felt like spitting at him and stalking off in some random direction but she knew that would not solve anything. She would keep fighting, she would get stronger, but for now she would study her enemy. Learn his weaknesses, and then exploit them.

"Don't call me 'little bird'," she snapped.

For a moment she was blinded by hatred as his eyes lit up with amusement before he seemed to check himself and make an awkward noise. A human gesture, he was trying to cough. An odd sensation hit her. There was truly more to the eye in this situation. She couldn't help but for one measly second pity him. It must be awful to be a creature that thinks it is human. She would have tried to steal one away from the world as well. That's when it hit her. She was supposed to be his companion.

"Right this way then… Raven," the Beast said extending his arm in the most gentlemen like manner.

It felt odd that he knew what to call her but she had no idea what to call him. On the spur of the moment she decided she would do something that he might take offense to just as much as she had a moment ago.

"Of course, Beast," she said accepting his offered arm.

She controlled the grin that wanted to escape her as she saw a flicker of pain cross his face. That was until she felt guilty. Really, _guilty_.

()()()()()()()()()

This girl was fearless. Never once did she flinch from her fate, or anything that caused even full grown men to piss themselves. She spoke to him like she was his equal, and never once did her eyes widen with fear or her body shake at the sight of him. It was different. Even his servants were terrified of him at first.

She was stubborn too. He could see it in her eyes that she was without a doubt plotting to kill him. She wasn't about to accept her fate without some type of fight. This annoyed him. He would have to actually be careful around her. Find some way to make her drop her defense around him and actually accept him. He studied her as he led her down the last hallway on the east wing. They hadn't exchanged any words since she had called him Beast. How fitting, if not a little bit hypocritical, but he wasn't about to comment. He was a beast, and although she had a bird's name she wasn't one literally.

He found he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She wasn't beautiful but definitely strange and different. She held the eye that was for sure. She was admittedly, attractive. The cloak that was draped over her shoulders couldn't hide her figure as she walked grimly forward. What was she wearing anyways?

He found himself studying her outfit with fascination before a feeling of dread overcame him. He and this girl were meant to be forever on the opposite end of the spectrum. That was a _royal seal_ plastered on her tunic, and what girl wore pants like a man? She was important and no doubt apart of the Royal Guard. That was it, he was doomed. His one chance at finding a fearless girl that could look past his looks gone. She had been his one hope. He found that dying didn't seem as scary as he had thought it was at first. He had long ago accepted that he was going to die. That he had had a good run and a full stomach most nights. That was a lot more than most of the people in this Kingdom had.

"What's a girl from a different Kingdom wearing this Kingdom's royal seal?" he asked pulling her to a stop.

She blushed and gaped at him at the same time. Undoubtedly she had just thought he was some bizarre creature she had never heard of. She was probably trying to piece together how the hell he knew that she was from a different Kingdom and that this one had a seal. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him this time. It really just slipped. He had stumped his bright little bird.

"I… uh… what?" she asked stumbling over her words as she looked at him with what could only be confusion.

"How is it that a girl from Azarath, a sworn enemy of this Kingdom, be wearing its seal?" he voiced it tauntingly slow. He was hoping that she would get that he might very well be human with this knowledge.

"I was captured at a young age," she finally said weakly. She seemed to be eyeing him with a certain degree of respect now, but he couldn't be sure. Her face was very closed off.

"How do you know about Azarath?"

He supposed he couldn't really avoid all of her questions with simple looks. Now that he had no chance of winning her over he might as well settle for a friend for the rest of the year. It was his last chance to live in human company.

"I visited there once," he replied nonchalantly. He couldn't let her know that he was a notorious thief. That would wreck any chance of friendship. He was still holding on to the hope that there might be someone to salvage one. She wouldn't be any wiser when he passed out dead in his bed in a couple of months. She could go back on her merry way, but he would have a person. A living breathing human being at his side when it happened. He wanted that much at least. That thought settled and resolve stealing through he opened the door that stood before them.

"Your room," he said as he guided her in.

Her eyes were cool and calculating. She took everything in with one sweeping glance before her eyes were trained back at him. She wasn't about to let some room let him out of questioning it seemed. This girl was so _different_.

"How did you visit?" she asked her eyes narrowing at him. Despite her show of giving him her back earlier she still didn't trust him. He couldn't blame her; he wouldn't trust someone who had in a small degree kidnapped him.

"I happened to slip through the boarder," he evaded.

"So you were part of the black-market trade," she speculated. A speculation that was dead on, he might add.

"How is it that there is a girl monk anyways? I always thought that was something for men," he asked. He could see his question threw her off again.

Someone that visited the back streets of Azarath would never venture out in fear of being discovered, so she had probably thought it was unlikely that anyone would ever mind out about the monks, least of all him. He couldn't help but find the blush on her face somewhat attractive. It was cute. Screw his thoughts. He was just going to go with whatever happened. He would keep her here until he died. Simple as that. No matter what she turned out to be to him she would be _his_ until then.

"I was raised by them," she said quietly as if she was remembering something. She looked like she had a million questions, but her stomach growled again and she smiled sheepishly at him knowing he could hear it.

Food. He was going to have to feed her one way or another. He was going to keep her alive.

"Harper!" he called, knowing that the servants were trailing behind them at some distance.

A harp wobbled into the room. There were no eyes or mouth but the voice answered back coolly. He could see Raven's face light up in shock before she quickly checked herself.

"Yes?" the harp asked. Without a face it wasn't very animated but one could tell that from the unnatural bend in the wood that it was bowing to him.

"Get some food for our guest," he told him. The harp gave what looked like a nod then hopped out of the room.

"I'm not hungry," she snarled at him but her stomach chose the moment to let out a small gurgling noise.

She scoffed and crossed her arms, clearly dismissing him. He wasn't about to leave he had to make sure she ate something. It had been a few days that she stayed locked up in that tower.

"Sure you're not," he almost felt like laughing but he knew that it seemed to make her anger when he did so. He restrained himself, knowing that if the roles were reversed he wouldn't like to be laughed at either. They waited in an awkward silence waiting for food to appear. Finally a cart rolled in on its own accord in front of them.

()()()()()()()()()()

He was stuffing his face flaunting the fact that he could eat as much as he wanted. It was making her skin crawl; those revolting sounds he made had made her appetite disappear. Well that was a lie. The aroma of the food was enticing and she had eaten with Victor and Garfield before. Those two could be worse than pigs. Still they had nothing on Beast. The food disappeared in down his throat with appalling noises that would for sure make even Garfield cringe. Maybe that was just wishful thinking; Garfield would probably turn it into a competition of who could eat the most food in the least amount of time. Or something like that.

Tears came unbidden to her. Her friends, her brother, and Richard. She would never see any of them again. She took a deep calming breath. She had already said goodbye to Richard before it even happened in a way, and Victor would be sure to make something good up. Either that or he would rave like a lunatic to rescue her. She hoped it wasn't the later. She took another deep breath. She didn't have time to think about them anymore. There was nothing she could do for them while she was here. All she needed to focus on was getting rid of this monster and possibly returning to them.

Besides a harp that could talk and a cart that rolled in on its own delivering food, Raven wasn't sure if there were any other occupants in the castle. The Harp seemed to have a different voice than the one that guided her to her brother but she couldn't be sure. It was hard to clear her thoughts and think back to that day.

"Is there any tea?" she asked after several moments. She regretted it once she did. Beast looked up, food matted into his fur and staining his teeth that he revealed as he smiled brightly at her.

"Of course," he whipped out a tray that held a carefully arranged platter with tea and even an arrangement of biscuits on it. He poured her a cup and offered her the tray enthusiastically. She was pretty sure he was on some time of sugar high. His demeanor was too cheerful.

Carefully she accepted the tray and laid it out in front of her. She wasn't sure what to expect. Maybe some random ensemble where her dishes started singing to her? She shuttered at the thought. Nothing happened, it appeared her dishes where just that, dishes. She felt a sigh of relief as she took a tentative sip from her cup, savoring the warm liquid as it slid down her throat.

"Raven," Beast asked, he seemed to have trouble saying her name, and he said it so quietly she wasn't sure if he had really addressed her. If he hadn't been so bluntly staring she would have assumed she was hearing things.

"Yes?"

"Those wounds, from earlier, on your back… It looks like one needs some treatment," he said softly and he scooted forward slightly. She wasn't sure why she felt touched by this action. She had completely forgotten she had been bleeding and she hadn't noticed any pain. Now that her attention was brought back to it her head felt dizzy as if she had lost a bit of blood. Maybe this was all a hallucination from blood loss.

"Give me some bandages and I'll wrap it up," she offered feeling herself whisper as well.

She heard the rumble of chuckle that escaped Beast before he could take it back. Before she heard him address somebody about treatment. She felt her eyes start to slide shut when she so desperately wanted to stay awake. She couldn't let her guard down here, not when she was so defenseless. She felt panic overtake her as Beast started to loom over her. She was as good as gone now.

She awoke hours later, feeling stiffness in her back and a pang in her stomach. Her head felt like it was literally throbbing, and her hands shook when she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She was in a bed, silk sheets were the only thing that caressed her skin, and soft cotton bandages were wrapped around her torso. It took her a second to realize she was naked before a large blush covered her face. Her eyes scanned the room but there was no sign of life. Clean clothes were laid out on the edge of her bed, and a tray of tea and biscuits lay on her bedside table. The tea still had steam rising from it. Someone had been here recently.

She donned the clean tunic and the pants provided, careful not to stretch too far when she felt the tightness in her back start to give protest. She didn't want to reopen the wounds that she had received the night before. She avoided the tea, feeling a certain mistrust for it, but picked up a biscuit and nibbled on it as she tried to collect her thoughts. Last night's images kept flashing before her. The Beast, the talking, the feeling that there was something more going on here than what met the eye, and that feeling of panic as she realized she had lost too much blood and could barely control her movements. How did she not notice the searing pain in her back? Was she too preoccupied with the Beast? No she had stopped noticing her pain when he mentioned Azarath. It wasn't right; he couldn't have gone unnoticed in the city if he was a Beast, that really only left one explanation. He used to be human.

"Ah you're awake. Good morning sugar."

The female good natured voice seemed to be coming from the corner of her room. A dark wooded dresser stood tall met her gaze. Was this another hallucination? How was this possible? Talking objects? She approached the dresser feeling wearing, until she stood right before it. She pondered for a moment wondering if having a conversation with a dresser was really worth it. She might as well try to get some answers.

"Who treated my wounds?"

"Why Jason did, of course, Gizmo helped a bit and so did Jinx, girls a wonder even if she is trapped as a towel."

"A towel?" she mumbled to herself. Things were slowly started to click into place. Those names were so familiar. As well as the name Jason if it was the same one associated with the other names. She had a feeling of dread over take her for a moment before she asked another question. The harp from last night, Beast had called it 'Harper'.

"Harper?" she found herself asking.

"Roy Harper," the dresser answered. "What about him?"

She was in a house of thieves. All these names were plastered on wanted posters throughout the kingdom. How the hell did they all turn into harmless practically useless objects?

"And you are?" she found herself asking wondering if it was too impolite.

"Karen, the bee's knees of the castle," came the quirky reply. One of the doors opened to reveal a yellow and black pin stripped inside with so many clothes packed into it, it was a wonder the pattern could even be seen. She had the odd feeling that she had just been flashed, and a squeaking sound came from the dresser. Laughter. This place was full of odd assortments of laughter, but it was laughter none the less. Her 'room' seemed a little less gloomy as she found a smile forming on her lips.

"Beast didn't see me… uh naked, right?" she found herself asking in spite of herself. She wasn't sure if she could handle being so exposed when she had been so weak. It seemed unfair.

"Jinx has her uses, hon," the dresser answered mysteriously. For some reason she felt immensely better at that.

"Are you my guard?" she asked because she assumed she wasn't supposed to leave this room. That Karen would raise some kind of alarm if she left.

"No, merely your roommate and if you'd like you can borrow all of my clothes," Karen said.

It felt weird that all of these objects were so_ human_. She had to figure out what was going on. It was a mystery she wanted to solve. Plus it could be used as some sort of weakness against the Beast. The Beast who was supposedly named Jason. She felt a little better finally knowing his name. She did feel guilty for whatever reason when she called him Beast. That's what he was wasn't he?

"Great," Raven answered as she strode toward the door. She was just about to close the door behind her when she heard Karen call desperately after her.

"Just whatever you do, stay away from the West Wing!"

She could pretend she had closed the door before she heard it all. Now she knew exactly where she was headed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So whatcha guys think? Were you expecting me to have them bust out into song? Shame on you if you did. Cookies for reviews (#) - that's my verison anyways. BumbleBee as a dresser, Jinx a towel, Speedy a harp... xD. I can't wait until you guys find out what everyone else is. Maybe you'll laugh as much as I did when I wrote it simply from imagining it. I mean Jinx a towel? Bahahahahahahahaha. xD. Don't worry it works out for her in the end... kinda :p

Oh and props to you guys for reaching 10 reviews! I'm flattered that I finally met my goal. Please by all means let's keep it up!


	6. Time

**A/N: **As much as I hate Author's notes before the chapter this one is needed. Sorry everyone I revamped it a little. In all I just changed Aqualad's name to Garth from Derek (after learning it AFTER I posted the chapter... I should have done better research sorry everyone for the confusion), and I added a few thoughts for Raven's refusal to get her back treated right away. I'm so sorry I forgot to add that. Honestly, what a dud. All in all there are only a few little changes but I thought I should let you all know in case you wanted to look over it. Thanks everyone and sorry about all the confusion I caused.

**Acceptance **

**Chapter Six: Time**

She felt sluggish. Her reaction time wasn't on par with her thoughts. This was proven when she carelessly bumped into a display table and barely made it in time to catch what looked like a priceless vase. _Not that it really matters, it was probably stolen anyways_, she thought darkly as she continued her trek down the hall. She was sure she was being followed. The gentle tapping of something hopping in desperation stopped whenever she stopped her movements. She would have made a mad dash for it but she was sure there were objects lying still and in wait for such a thing. The enemy was everywhere. She was being watched, and carefully. It felt weird to be under such surveillance. She wondered briefly if Kori ever felt this way with all of the guards, before she pushed the thought away. They were there to protect her, and she did have some privacy. It wasn't like Kori had to worry about supposed inanimate objects springing to life in her own room.

She had wandered to the stairs of the West Wing, only to find it heavily barricaded. It wasn't like Beast had much to hide anyways. She knew who he was. Jason, Red X, the Prince of Thieves. She felt her lips peel back in disgust. The dangerous criminal had never stooped so low as to kidnap before, she guessed there was a first time for everything. She began pacing; only it wasn't back and forth. She found her feet leading her around the castle, as she brooded about what to do next.

Red X, the one that targeted his prizes with flashy red x's before he stole them. The one that always avoided officials and no one really knew what he looked like. It was rumored he wore a skull over his face to hide his features. He was the smooth talking seducer and rumored hunk. How did he come to be in this form? It didn't make sense. One thing was for sure. Knowing his identity did nothing to help find a weakness about him. She was going to have to spend some actual time getting to know him. She felt herself cringe at the thought before her fingers were tugging at the soft cotton bandages on her stomach.

There had to be something there she could hold against him. He seemed to want her to be in good condition. She would have to think of something to lure him out, but what exactly?

He had apparently cleaned up her wounds and treated her. He had offered to feed her as well before she passed out. Despite her situation he couldn't be all bad if he did that. Right?

She sighed as her stomach rumbled painfully reminding her that the only thing she had eaten in days was a measly biscuit from a tea tray. She might as well go searching for some food, and then try to sort things out. Her thoughts were a bit clouded from the hunger and what she assumed blood loss. Things would only continue to deteriorate if she ignored her body's needs.

As if the castle knew exactly what she wanted before she did, a wonderful smell wafted her nose. She couldn't be sure but it smelled an awful lot like waffles. Tempted and thoroughly curious she followed her nose down a fleet of stairs. She would have never wandered here assuming it would have been more dungeons, but whoever made this castle seemed to think otherwise. She heard the clank of dishes and the sound of a harp strumming. Was there a human in there or merely more objects that were alive? For some reason she was starting to think she had fabricated all of this in her mind to cope with the fact that she was now a slave for the rest of her life. Although she wasn't being treated like one…

Timidly she made her way to the door that was emitting all the sounds and paused. She pushed on the door lightly, making it crack open just enough for her to peak through.

Dishes were hoping all around. Even the tea kettle she had used earlier. She tried to suppress a groan as she heard them all merrily singing a song about cleaning up and preparing breakfast for the master. So there was singing. She sighed as she something soft wrap around her foot. She glanced down to see a pink fuzzy towel, and she tried to kick it off feeling alarm bubble up inside of her. She lost control of her footing for a brief moment before she tripped into the kitchen.

Dead silence.

"Um hello?" Raven greeted righting herself and looking around the room. She wasn't sure where to look since no faces greeted her and felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. They were making her feel like she was going insane. None of them even moved. All frozen in awkward places and positions, even the pink towel on her leg was limp, as if the life had drained from it.

"I was just wondering if there was any leftover food," she mumbled still not sure where to look. Her eyes suddenly became trained on the harp.

"Well the girl is hungry. Someone fix her some food," the Harp demanded.

She smiled gratefully at him as a tray of food appeared before her. Freshly cut fruit, a steaming pile of waffles with a dab of whipped cream on top, warm hash browns, and a tall glass of milk. If her mouth wasn't watering at the sight she would have suspected that maybe this had been already prepared for her. She was just about to tuck in before she thought of something. Would they have poisoned the food? It seemed a bit like a dirty trick but all of these objects used to be bandits and thieves. Her biscuit earlier had been fine. Besides she was really too hungry to care at the moment. Her promise of starving herself gone out the window, with a new promise to find a way to kill the Beast in its place.

The dishes washed and dried themselves and floated into place in cabinets. The stove turned off, and the fire died down a little. Soon all that was remaining was the food in front of her, a harp, a pink towel, a bowl with a fish swimming in it, and what she could only guess was some type of candle holder. The candle holder looked a lot like her brother's inventions. It was slick and sliver with a few buttons placed around the rim. She was too preoccupied with eating to really ask questions at the moment. She was sure she probably did look like Garfield or her brother, shoveling food down her throat.

A few minutes later she let out a contented sigh as her stomach expanded happily. Filled to the brim she studied the objects in front of her, unsure of how to make conversation. The candle holder let out an awkward cough.

"So who are you?" it jeered. She felt vertigo set in. Was it just her, or was that voice familiar? Wasn't that the boy from the palace a few years back that used to give her brother hell? What was his name again? She felt a shiver shoot down her spine.

"G-Gizmo?"

More dead awkward silence came into the room. She heard her dresser, Karen, mention this name earlier but the dots hadn't really connected. What was he doing with a bunch of thieves and villains that were now all inanimate objects? Maybe this all was a figment of her imagination and she fabricated someone real to help her cope.

"I joined up with these losers after I lost a bet to one of them a few years ago when they were near the palace," he offered and there was a gesture that could've passed off for a shrug, as if any of that explained why he was now a high tech candle holder.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face you dumb c-"

"That's enough Gizmo," the towel growled. Could towels growl and have feminine voices to them as well?

Somehow the food that was settling in her stomach didn't seem like it was enough to take in everything that was going on. She would have to accept it. This was real, this place was _enchanted_. She wanted to laugh, it would have been her dream merely days ago to be thrown into some type of setting that reflected one of the books she had read so many times. She would have loved it. Now, however, she found that she missed curling up next to a warm fire and being able to close the book and return to her duties as a guard. That was one of the wonderful things about books. It was like a second life you could pause at any moment and resume again later. Only now she couldn't pause it and resume later, because now it was real.

The objects had been exchanging harsh replies until finally she held up one of her hands when one of them started to look threating, although how a towel managed to look threating was beyond her.

"I was a bit frazzled. It's not every day a girl winds up in an enchanted castle," she offered a sheepish smile as she rolled up her sleeves, picked up her plates, and took them to the sink. She was just about to do something useful and wash the plates when they sprung out of her hands and proceeded to clean themselves. She sighed and looked at her hands dumbly.

"How do you guys entertain yourselves?" she asked.

It must have been awful to be trapped in those forms and be unable to do anything useful, like cook or clean or even tend to your own wounds. Maybe that was just how she felt. It was frustrating. She wasn't the type to let others wait on her.

"We fight," Roy said. The wood bent slightly near the top of its flat panel, she couldn't be sure but it kind of looked like a smirk.

"What happened to make a renowned sharp shooter join the Prince of Thieves?"

It was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She knew she should assess the situation a bit longer, figure out these people stuck inside objects, but her own impatience was eating away at her. She mentally scolded herself and felt herself frown when another awkward silence filled the room. Obviously she had just botched whatever chance she had at getting some answers. Rule number one in interrogations; you never get straight to the point unless you have the upper hand. In this case, she most definitely did not have the upper hand.

"What made a girl from Azarath join a bunch of monks, and then become a guard for a rival kingdom?"

She felt a flare of anger spike her blood. What right did the Beast have to give away personal information about her? She quickly bit her lip from a nasty retort, reminding herself that Beast merely had speculations under his belt and that the truth was still only hers.

"Touché, Roy."

It felt weird to be addressing them by their names. People who under normal circumstances she would have been attempting to arrest and deliver them to the crown before they could say 'Prince of Thieves'. But seeing as her stay was seemingly getting longer by the minute she might as well get on at least comfortable terms with them. Anyways it seemed that by addressing the criminals by their names broke the ice a little bit.

The harp laughed, or what she assumed laughed as the strings moved and sounded like a high pitched chuckled. The towel looked like it was displeased, and Gizmo was in what she was starting to refer to as dead state. Where the objects simply stopped moving and froze into a natural position.

"Well ma'am, the day is yours. What do you plan on doing with it?"

The question came from the fish bowl, in which a brightly colored fish swam back and forth and was studying her. From the muted tone of the question and the bubbles that were rapidly popping on top of the water she figured that the fish had asked the question.

"Investigate the castle. Learn the lay out. Possibly take a stroll along the grounds," she paused a moment remembering something.

"The horse I came here with. Has he been tended to?"

"Yes," Gizmo answered curtly before hopping off, the pink towel close behind him. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. At least he had been tended to. She would probably go keep him company and possibly check out the grounds later if possible.

"Don't worry yourself with simple matters here miss. Chances are someone will beat you to it out of boredom," the fish said as the harp began to make an odd gurgling noise. Was it sleeping and snoring?

"So it's not out of courtesy for a guest?"

Laughter filled the air, from the dishes crackling, to the stove clicking, to the harp strumming, and to the fish gurgling. All the noise filled the air, and for some reason it made her smile too. What a silly question she had just asked.

She only had a certain amount of time to lure the Beast out. She would have to act fast. She heard a distant growl outside the door and smiled. He was already tailing her, time to make a show.

()()()()()()()()()()

Had he not been a criminal before he had turned into a creature he would have felt awkward for what he was doing. He had practically kidnapped and enslaved a girl. Well not practically it was what he had done. That was beside the point. He was now following her around the castle. He was silently sticking to the shadows as she roamed around his home. It felt odd, if he hadn't kidnapped her, if he hadn't insisted this was her new home as well, it would have been weird to have her prodding around his house. It still felt odd, or maybe he just hadn't come to terms with the fact that he had given her the freedom to roam as she pleased. It might have been the fact that he was fascinated by her.

He hadn't been able to sleep the past night. Her scent, her demeanor, everything about her had filled every waking thought he had. He wondered if it was simply from the lack of female companionship over the past two years but quickly dismissed it. She was different even from the girls he had had company with.

He watched, frozen to the wall outside the door of the kitchen as she chatted with his servants. How cool and collected she was. Inwardly he cursed when she said 'Prince of Thieves' something or someone had dropped the ball and had given her a hint to who he was. Not that it mattered; he was going to die soon anyways.

He watched as she stretched her back. Testing her limits as she climbed up one of his walls and unto a level platform. She was graceful, almost catlike even with her injuries. She grimaced once, and he saw the back of her shirt slowly start to darken with blood. He wanted to growl and demand she change her bandages but he found himself unable to. He watched as she walked easily towards the rim of the level and swung herself to the stairs, sliding down the railing and landing on both feet. It clicked. She was getting familiar with the terrain, she was training. After about an hour or so of this she disappeared back into the kitchen. He heard her talking quietly with Harper and she emerged with a glass of water and an apple.

He followed her out to the grounds, cursing when he noticed that she would probably take the same path back to the castle and the freshly fallen snow wouldn't help him any. He wouldn't let her know he had been following her. He wanted, almost impatiently for her to return. Hours later, she came stumbling in. Her cheeks rosy and her clothes disheveled, but she looked cheerier none the less. The stain on her back was darker and he felt himself growing worried about it. Did she not notice it? She hadn't the night before and had fainted before he could catch her. She had hit her head on the tea tray and he was worried that maybe she had received a concussion. He should have stayed last night and checked on her.

Only he hadn't. He had left Jinx and Bee in charge of her hoping that they would take care of her properly. How could they? Neither one of them had hands.

She disappeared into the kitchen again, this time he heard her loudly protest with Harper. That 'no she would not let them treat her back'. She was such a child. This time he did feel himself growling. He leapt from his shadows and was about to barge into the kitchen when the door swung open and revealed Raven.

Raven, a dark bird, so aptly named. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were narrowed at him. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun and hung out in wild tuffs, her cheeks were puffed out in a scorn, and her posture was posed, ready, for a fight. Her demeanor screamed that there would be the promise of blood and it wasn't her own she was planning on letting lose. He felt himself shallow audibly as they stared at each other.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

It was funny how often time's roles were reversed. He remembered just yesterday he had been the one starting the conversation with 'well'.

"What do you want in my kitchen?"

"Your kitchen?" he felt a laugh bubble up inside him until he noticed her face. She was completely serious right now. Her cocked eye brow was enough to suggest it. He was at a loss of words and it took him a moment to collect himself.

"It's my kitchen and I'm hungry. Now move aside," he ordered.

He was lying, he wasn't hungry at all. He really wanted to yell at her for not being more careful with her back injury, one that he had inflicted because he was still not used to his claws. For his defense he wasn't used to fighting with them. He hadn't fought a human in two years, and before then he didn't have his attachments. Still he felt guilt seize him for a moment before Raven barred the door.

Her arms spread to either side, creating a human x, and a scowl graced her face.

"No way, _Jason_," she hissed.

He wasn't sure what it was but hearing her say his name brought out one response. He roared, deep and loud. It came from the pit of his stomach until it worked its way up his throat and out of his mouth, pure unrestrained rage transformed into a roar. Raven didn't even flinch. He huffed and stalked away, making sure to slam several doors on his way to the West Wing and make a show of breaking a few defenseless tables.

It was a stupid reaction really but he couldn't bring himself to face the real reason of why it upset him to hear her say his name. It was said with pure hate, utter disgust, as if it was the vilest name on the face of the planet. He preferred her calling him Beast, even it was an insult. Still deep down he couldn't help but feeling hope. He refused to face it as he locked himself into his room. He didn't want to hope. Because hoping and having it crushed when it was right before his eyes would be just as bad as death. He didn't want to die twice.

()()()()()()()()

Despite the fact that she was shaking from her adrenaline rush she was happy. She was happy. She had hit a nerve. She couldn't smile because she knew that even though those objects didn't have faces they could still see. It wasn't because she couldn't bring herself to smile. It wasn't because she kept thinking of Jason's eyes. Of how utterly hurt and defeated he looked. She didn't care about that. Why should she care what a criminal felt? It had been his fault anyways. She had gotten the jest of the story from Roy earlier with a few add on from Garth (the fish she had discovered his name finally), and it really was Jason's fault. From the sound of it he encountered some type of fairy and it had tested him. He had failed. That was the price he had to pay. Only she wasn't sure why instant death hadn't occurred. It was almost like the fairy was giving him a chance. She wasn't about to dwell on it. It wasn't her problem.

Besides, she had found a weak point. Saying Jason's name obviously bothered him, although the others said that they called him by that name. She didn't buy it, simply because if they did then it wouldn't have had such a strong effect on him right? She wasn't even sure what the effect was. All she knew she had to do was guard the kitchen. She could do that. After all it had been her previous job. She was happy.

Why didn't she feel elated then? She felt her stomach twist in knots as the thought of Jason's hurt eyes came back to her. Why had he been so hurt? Why was that such an easy target? Was it because she was never supposed to figure out who he was?

"Coffee done yet?" she asked mindlessly. She heard a chorus of no's and slumped back down in her seat. She winced as she felt blood leak out of her back at the movement. She should hate him right? Her back had been in constant agony all day, and it was his fault. Well technically it was her fault. She had started a fight with him after all.

No, it was his fault.

"Is the coffee done yet?" she growled. She didn't even like the bitter drink; she just found that under its effect she could stay awake more efficiently than with tea.

"Raven," Garth's voice said timidly. "Asking the same question two seconds later wont' make it finish any faster. Things take time."

His voice wasn't really timid but being under water it made his voice have an echo like quality to it. It was unearthly.

"I know," she grumbled not bothering to move. Her back was throbbing now and she tried to think about how much blood she was losing. How much longer she could keep conscious and guard this room from the beast? She would starve him out, if she couldn't out fight him. She could at least be enough of a fight to keep him away from here. That was the plan anyways. At the rate her shirt was damping she wasn't sure how much longer she had. She was depending on the fact that he wanted her in mint condition and time was running out. At this rate she would hardly be able to pack a decent punch.

Just as the steaming mug full of a liquid she didn't really have any taste for slid in front of her she felt something warm wrap around her leg. Familiar panic set in as she glanced down at the fuzzy pink towel until it lurched at her face.

"Does this smell like chloroform?" the girly voice cackled as her world turned dark.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I won't ramble about how sorry I am down here. Let me know if this one was done better? Next chapter shall be up soon... maybe. I only have written up to my next chapter so I might hold on to it a bit longer until I write some more chapters for you guys. Have a wonderful day :)


	7. Tender

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Seven: Tender**

She kept her breathing even despite the panic that was over running her. She wanted to appear asleep. She heard voices but her mind was so filled with fog she couldn't make out what was being said. She resisted the urge to just fall back asleep. Being asleep was dangerous. She felt something soft to her left, and she had in her sleep tangled her fingers up in it. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, she just knew if she moved it would alert the room of her awareness.

The voices that were talking were angry. She could make out a few words but without knowing the full context of what was being said just confused her. Instead she focused on breathing, steady even breaths, in and out. It was soothingly. Sleep beckoned her back but she refused. She had to stay awake. She was in danger. Why wouldn't her body cooperate?

Her head throbbed and she barely resisted the urge to moan. Her breath hitched and for a moment she thought she blew her cover. The room grew silent. She heard a hum immediately to her left, there was a tenderness there she wasn't sure she could trust. She ignored it and kept her focus on breathing. Steady breathing, in and out. This was easy, much easier than trying to strain her ears to hear what was being said. Still she couldn't help but make a few words out.

"She told the whole kitchen her plan," a feminine voice said. It sounded angry. It probably was angry.

"That didn't give you a right to do that. We keep coming back to the same point. I could have handled it on my own," a male voice. Familiar it was softer than what she was used to, like it was attempting to whisper. The voice's owner was closer to her on her left.

A memory came back then. Ah the towel. It had drugged her. Probably the girl voice she was hearing now and the male. The male was obviously Jason. He was taking advantage of the fact that she was weak and could now raid for all the supplies that he needed.

"What's handling it? Going into the woods and getting shot at again? Want to start some more rumors about a werewolf living close by town again? Because we all know how that turned out," the girl seemed to be reeling.

"Jinx," Jason purred, "are you worried about me?"

He was mocking her, teasing her. Only when even in her state she could tell there was something different about how he did it with her. There was no kindness in his voice, no playfulness she should say. His teasing with Jinx seemed like it was intended to be cruel. She heard Jinx sputter out an insult before the room grew quiet again.

"She'll be awake any moment. I didn't give her that much," Jinx said quietly and Raven tried to keep a control on her breathing. The voice was a little too close for her comfort.

She felt her fingers get untangled from the softness and again restrained a noise. She had been gripping onto Jason? It wasn't a big deal, it was a gesture done out in sleep. She had no control over it. It couldn't be helped that his fur was soft and appealing to her. She pushed it out of her mind as she heard his footsteps patter out of the room and the door close softly behind him. She let out a sigh of relief.

"I knew you were awake."

She rolled over tiredly to face Karen, the dresser in the corner. She felt a sheepish grin escape her lips as she rolled her shoulders and tried to sit herself up. It took a lot of effort. Her arms were shaking hard and seemed restrained by some type of outer force. She looked down not surprised to see her chest wrapped in clean bandages.

"He gave you stitches this time," Karen said coldly. She wasn't sure but it seemed out of character for her. Karen from the day before had been vibrant and full of energy and willing to talk to her. She felt kind of weird to be treated this way by her. It was almost like when Victor was mad at her, how he would always talk to her in a curt tone when she did something he didn't approve of. In fact she felt a similar response escaping her as she tested her legs.

"I don't know why you're all uptight."

"You don't know why I'm uptight?" Karen scoffed as Raven wobbled dangerously as she attempted to stand up and flopped back on her bed. "You attempted to starve him. You're planning on killing him."

"So?"

"So? All you can say is, '_So_'? Girl, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

At this Karen laughed. It wasn't the bubbly laugh from the day before but a tight cold laugh. It made Raven shrug.

"You should have seen the way you were holding on to him in your sleep. Cuddled right up to him," she was mocking her. She knew better than to let mocks get to her. She had learned the hard way a long time ago.

"Won't stop me from my goal," Raven said curtly attempting to stand again. She winced once, feeling her leg give way and feeling her back hit the bed. Despite the bed's surprising softness she felt the tenderness in her back still.

"He's dying anyways he doesn't need your help."

()()()()()()()()

He could hear her soft voice from beyond the door. He was tempted, so very tempted to take a few steps back and listen to what she was saying. He restrained himself though, having a better idea he darted into his room. He made it across the castle in record time jumping over the barricade with ease. He pulled open a draw out of a seemingly random cabinet, and ripped out a small silver looking glass.

"Show me Raven," he demanded.

A flash of blue light and a slight hiss, a puff of steam rose over his hands, locking him in place with the mirror.

"_He's not all bad…"_

"_I don't care. I hate him," Raven said stubbornly. She was attempting to stand again._

"_Your wounds didn't clean and wrap themselves over night," Bee snapped and threw an article of clothing over Raven's face. At this Raven's face twisted. Her look was gone before he could decipher it though. _

"_I didn't ask him to do that," she said slowly._

"_Like he would let you die when he had the power to save you," Bee was really getting angry on his behalf. He felt slightly touched. He had never been particularly close with her, and she was defending him. _

"_I don't get it!" Raven said finally after a few moments of tense silence. "I don't get why I'm here, or why he keeps trying to keep me alive. I don't care if he's dying, that's not a reason."_

He hissed and whipped the mirror away from himself. She even knew he was dying? He stuffed the mirror back in place trying to get rid of the voices that were now emitting from it. His warm feelings for Bee now gone, she had told Raven everything. He felt anger sweeping across his insides and even if a growl threated to lose its self but he kept it in check.

He found himself outside her door and his fists pounding on it violently.

"What?" he heard Raven snap.

"Let me in. I have a few words I want to exchange with Bee," he growled.

"No," Raven said simply.

"NO?"

"Yeah, no," came the curt reply.

"First the kitchen now this? Let me see Bee… NOW!" he roared. He didn't hear any moment inside and his tail twitched in irritation. Several long moments of silence greeted him and he knew she would pretend she didn't exist if he just kept yelling. Yelling would get him nowhere with her. She wasn't intimidated by him.

"Sorry for raising my voice. Now will you please let me have a few words with Bee?"

"No."

"Why not?" he growled, feeling his hair start to bristle along his back.

"Because she's the one person that has given me straight answers since I've been here. You can't take her away from me," her voice was muffled behind the door.

He wanted nothing more than to see her face, and try to read the emotions that she occasional let flit through her monotone mask. All he had seen so far was anger and indifference, and bravery. And he wasn't about to forget when during their physical fight she had actually laughed at the start of it. It seemed so light and out of place with her.

He knew he had the power to rip the door open, and do what he wanted by force. It was his castle, but this was Raven's room. He wasn't about to invade her privacy, in hopes that she would do the same and stay out of the West Wing. He felt a sigh escape him and turned defeated from the door.

The rest of the day went by painfully slow, like the days before Raven had shown up into this castle. He found his body travel to the dining hall out of habit and he sat by the fire, brooding in his chair. He heard a light knock and assumed Harper was going to tell him dinner was ready. He was mildly surprised when he heard the gentle patter of two human feet.

"I think it's best if we both apologize and move on," Raven said her voice even and flat.

"Why?"

He turned in time to see her pull back the irritation placed on her face, and a mask of indifference met him. Only he knew she could feel. He was about to make it his new goal for her never to go back to this indifference.

"Look. I don't want to apologize. I haven't done anything wrong but I'm going to. Now stop sulking and go do… beast things," she commanded, hesitating in a slight way at the end.

He laughed. She didn't know how lame that sounded.

"Then don't apologize if you don't mean it, plus you don't even know what you are apologizing for," he paused for a moment waiting to see if he was wrong. When she gave no reply he continued, "I am sorry for uh… yelling earlier. I was just mad at Bee for giving away…"

"Information about yourself?" Raven offered looking skeptical. He grinned. So she knew he told the others about his guess behind her past. That was fine he didn't regret that. It did make him a bit of a hypocrite though.

"You could say that," he shrugged and turned back to the fire. A pregnant pause greeted him and he shuffled his feet closer to the fire, careful not to let his fur get to close. One time he had learned that lesson the hard way. He smiled at the memory that was one of his better moments with this 'friends' here in the castle. Before he could dwell on the memory Raven cleared her throat, causing him to turn back and look at her.

"I wanted to say thank you," she offered in her monotone voice.

"What for?" he was going to draw this out. Make it as hard for her as possible. It must be killing a girl from the palace to have to thank a criminal, especially one she hated and didn't understand.

"For healing my wounds," her voice cracked and a little bit of sincere thankfulness leaked out.

"I owed it to you. I did hurt you after all," he smiled and turned back to the fire.

"I attacked first."

"I might have provoked you with that biting comment. I don't think you were ready for that type of humor."

"Who says I don't have a monster's sense of humor? Maybe I just didn't find it funny."

He caught her eye, and saw a smile in it. Before he knew it he was busting out laughing but it didn't escape his attention that Raven's light laughter had joined his as well.

()()()()()()()()

It was the first time she had used the diner room and she was drenched in her own sweat and blood. She hadn't bathed since she had been here and she was sure she reeked. She had only recently become aware of the fact that she probably didn't smell like her normal lavender oil bath mix and more like a man from a pig farm. She noticed how Jason stayed a certain distance and even the dishes were acting odd around her. She refused to think it was of that moment. In fact there wasn't a moment it was completely banned from her thoughts forever because it never existed. She didn't even know what she wasn't thinking about.

"I meant it," Jason whispered as he took a long sip from the wine glass before him.

The blush that was now covering her face was because he sounded human. It had nothing to do with what he said earlier because he hadn't said anything earlier. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Rae," he whispered.

"You will not give me that nickname," she hissed, "You have no right to it."

"We're friends now. We shared a laugh and a meal," he said softly.

"You have no right to ask that of me! I won't do it. End of discussion."

She heard him give a sigh and realized it was relief. What was the point in asking such a stupid question if he knew she wouldn't do it? He was testing her. Was their little laugh and meal together not enough?

"I need a bath," she said stiffly wanting nothing more than a change of conversation.

Jason however didn't seem like he was going to show her where she could clean up. She should have paid more attention while exploring and found out where the bath house was. She could have drawn up her own bath and just left this room. As of right now though, she had to wait for someone to show her the way. She stood up abruptly shoving her chair back so that it squealed along the stone floor.

"Calm down Raven. I don't see why you are getting so worked up. You don't smell that bad," his voice was purring with tease.

She bit her lip and fought the blush that threatened to rise on her face. There really was no reason to get worked up. It seemed like he was going to drop the matter for now. Still it was a situation she wanted to take a step back from it and collect herself. There was something about him that just got under her skin. She needed to keep herself in check. They weren't exactly friends and she couldn't drop her guard around him.

She felt herself slide back into the chair opposite him, and stare blankly at the food in front of her. Her appetite long gone now, she picked up her tea cup and took a long draught from it.

"Now then. When I die why won't you take my skin to my mother?"

"I'm not going to skin you," she hissed.

"I'm pretty sure you threatened me that you'd 'skin me alive'," he jeered his eyes dancing in the candle light.

"That was different!"

"How?" he challenged.

She wasn't going to answer him. She felt a hiss escape her lips and realized that she had stood up again. This was ridiculous. How could he ask her to do this? Like they were close friends or something. She needed air. It was stuffy in here. The dining hall was filled with candles and a roaring fireplace. She felt sweat run down her neck and making her hair stick to her skin. She hated that feeling more than anything.

She wasn't sure when or how it happened. Well that was a lie. She ran. She ran from that stuffy room where questions and personal things were being asked. Things she didn't want to face. _When he dies… not if, when_. It was only a matter of time. Why did that leave her thoughts racing and her heart pounding? It wasn't like she cared for him and she refused to think that she was spiteful enough to be glad that he died. She wouldn't be glad, maybe relived that she could return to her friends and her job, but not glad. She pushed open the main doors and dashed outside sucking down the fresh air. Her lungs burned and her blood was pounding. It wasn't enough, the fresh air wasn't enough. Panic began to set as she gasped desperately for clean air.

()()()()()()()()

Everything hurt. His face felt like they had been licked by flames, and his legs were prickling as if they were continuously being stabbed. It consumed him. He wasn't aware of anything but the burning pain, and he was desperate to get away. He flickered in and out of unconsciousness. Sometimes he could see light other times it would be dark. He wasn't aware of what was happening. His throat was unbearably dry, and he was sure he was calling for the one person that could take away all this pain. Raven.

Why wasn't she here? What was he forgetting? He could feel panic on the edge of his thoughts but for some reason it wasn't enough to overcome the pain. Why wasn't Raven taking away the pain? Hadn't he been a good brother? Why wasn't she taking care of him?

"Raven?" he heard his own voice. It was hoarse and his throat was raw, his tongue felt thick in his mouth and he tried to swallow. He winced. It was like trying to swallow fire.

He was dimly aware that there were a few figures next to him. Occasionally one of the figures did something to alleviate the pain, other times they made it worse. Overall he ignored their presences. He had nothing to do with them. Where was his sister? Some thing was screaming off and wrong but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Where is Raven?"

A voice. A voice was addressing him and asking about Raven. That didn't make any sense. He wanted to know where she was. Why wasn't she here? Dammit, where was his sister?

"Victor. Answer me. Where is Raven?"

He knew that voice. It was Richard. His friend. His friend that had feelings for his little sister. Still there was urgency to his voice like he had little to no clue what had happened to Raven either. He could trust Richard, he might be a bit finicky with his love life but he would always pull through for his friends and Raven was one of his friends too. Now it was just up to him. He had to remember. What had happened? Why was he in pain and where was his sister? Last time he had seen her was when she had sent him off for the inventor's convention.

"Where's Raven?" Richard shouted. He felt his body being lifted off a bed, and his skin being gripped by something cold. He could smell the alcohol coming off of his friend's breath.

"I don't know," he hissed and he felt himself being dropped roughly on the bed. Tears sprung to his eyes out of frustration. Obviously he held the answer, and everyone was waiting on him so they could help Raven. Why couldn't he remember?

"We need to operate now," he heard someone say. It sounded like Terra only he couldn't be sure. His thoughts were straining to remember, straining to think of some clue. Where was Raven?

"No not yet!"

"Richard he can't go on like this. He'll die."

Kori. That was definitely Kori. Why did she sound so much older and more world weary? Was that his fault too? Why was he like this? It was on the tip of his tongue. He could feel his thoughts slowly turning back to the memory. He had to tell Richard. Richard would save her.

"It'll be two weeks before he'll wake up and be able to tell us!"

"I'd rather that be the case than have his death on my hands for inaction. Now MOVE!"

Since when was Kori so pushy? He felt a warm hand placed on the side of his face that wasn't burning. It was comforting. He heard tender words just as he drifted off into sleep. The darkness was so much more appealing than having to stay awake and bear this pain. He felt the prick of a needle on his arm and felt a sigh escape him. A drug induced void, a place to escape for a while. His thoughts were lost to him as he slipped into the welcoming blackness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I have a question guys. Is my point of view changing confusing? Should I indicate who it is like in bold with a name at the top. I mean I always make sure to mention who it is within the chapter. I just wasn't sure if it was confusing or not. Let me know. Same blackmail deal as always. Ten reviews you get an update sooner. I'll start drawing this out unless ... mwahahahahahaha. Better accept the blackmail everyone. Thanks for all the reviews. Glad you guys seem to be enjoying it so far.

Also! Super sorry about last chapter everyone... I still feel guilty. I revamped it and added a pretty important plot point even if it's only a pargraph long I hope you guys went back to check. Thanks! Much LOVE! (#)


	8. Care

**Acceptance **

**Chapter Eight: Care**

She briefly wondered what would happen. What would happen if she left and never came back? Would he haunt her? Would she be safe? Would her friends be safe? That thought gave her pause. As much as she hated being a prisoner she would stomach it if it meant her friends wellbeing. She would never be able to face them if all she did was brought back trouble. She had caused enough trouble for all of them at some point or another.

That didn't stop her from running. Her legs were pumping beneath her in a rhythmic pattern as she dashed through the trees, and it was almost calming. It was just another day of training. Dodging, leaping, running. Running until her lungs were burning as the icy air filled them. It was odd. Last time she had paid attention to the weather she was sending Victor off on his voyage. And that day had been more like fall, how many days had passed since her stay here? Surely it hadn't been more than a week or two. How did Victor come to a place like this? What had led to that? She supposed she would never really get to know the truth of the matter, unless she was able to survive this. All she had to do was out live the Beast.

So why was she running? It was just a never ending parade of questions that she didn't have the answer for. She was sick of running and she couldn't fight. Fighting meant reopening wounds on her back that refused to heal. Fighting meant she would have to accept that Beast was a formidable opponent and she would have to give it more than her all. Fighting meant death and despite being ready to die she didn't want to just yet. Being ready to die didn't mean she would dash in unwisely. She had to make it a noble effort at least. She wouldn't sacrifice her life just because she could; she had to make sure it had the most impact. That it was worth it.

Staying and waiting out the Beast's death presented a few problems. One was the condition he had tried to make her accept. He had actually had the gall to ask her to skin his body and deliver his fur to his mother after he passed away. Who the hell asked an enemy to do that? They sure as hell weren't chummy enough to be friends despite the fact that Beast was constantly calling her that. It was beyond screwed up. He must've had a weird relationship with his mother and she didn't even want to ask. She didn't want to be curious.

She felt a frustrated scream escape her as she tripped and landed hard on the frozen earth. The wind knocked out of her briefly. She beat her fist on the ground feeling tears threaten to spill. What was with her? Victor had been right this was beyond her training, this situation. She didn't even know where to begin collecting herself. Every time she got close to collecting her cool, Jason just went and dropped a shell on her, or she would pass out or something happened. It was a never ending cycle.

The cool earth was inviting. She placed her forehead against it letting it absorb all the warmth there. Her arms shook as she pushed herself up and studied her surroundings. She could handle this. She just needed to take things one step at a time. Just like back at the monastery growing up. She smiled as a memory surfaced of her getting lectured by Azar. He had often scolded her then. She had almost forgotten his face and what he looked like; he rarely crossed her mind these days. Lessons from back in the day began to surface. Days of her childhood spent repressing emotions and studying hard to become a monk knowing full well it was banned for her because of her sex. It didn't matter, she had kept trying. She would have succeeded if…

She sighed and straightened herself into a sitting position. Back to square one. Collecting herself. She could do this. It was as simple as clearing her mind, and breathing. She took a deep breath, savoring the cold air as it filled her lungs. Slow rhythmic breathing, emptying her mind, finding her center. She found that her lips were forming into a small chant that she had used back in her days at the monastery.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos," she let the air leave her lips. The moisture puffed out visibly, having a calming effect on her as she focused on repeating her mantra and on meditating. How long had it been since she had last done this? Months? Years? She felt a familiar cramp in her legs as the time passed. She was proud to say that she was barely aware of the time passing. The goal of her meditation was to lose herself into it, to find peace.

()()()()()()()()()

Even with the blue haze of that the mirror was emitting he could tell that she was in trouble. Her lips were a dark blue and her skin was so pale that with the mirror's bluish effect she looked like a frozen corpse. Her back was dark due to her old clothes stained with blood. He could barely make out the rise and fall of her chest. She was beautiful even this close to death. It scared him.

He wanted nothing more than to reach through the mirror and place her in a hot bath and scold her for being so stupid. It was all his fault. He had been stupid. He had misjudged a situation and pressed a matter that he should have let drop. It didn't matter right now, what mattered at the moment was getting Raven and getting her out of the cold weather. Her body was too weak to be out in the cold like this. He had to hurry.

He found it hard to tear himself away from the mirror. It was as if he blinked the mirror might shatter and she would along with it. She would be lost to him forever. The only human girl that he had seen in the past two years would be gone if he blinked. He knew it was ridiculous but he couldn't quiet explain it. Something about her was just alluring. He wanted to ask her so many questions but wasn't sure how. Thing was though, if he didn't act soon he would never get the chance.

Fear finally overtook the morbid fascination of looking at Raven through the mirror. He felt it down into the pit of his stomach. Fear of losing something real in his world of monsters and dream like state. Throwing down the mirror, knowing that it wouldn't break no matter what he did to it, he took off from the castle.

It didn't take long to find her. She was sitting in the middle of the woods, peacefully repeating a mantra he assumed she had learned from the monks. She just blinked when he picked her up. She didn't protest, yell, or curse. She simply let him pick her up.

Her arms circled around his neck and he felt her breath hitch for just a second when he squeezed her to his chest. He took in a deep breath himself relishing in her scent. Even if it was musky from blood Raven had a scent that seemed almost floral. It reminded him of her purple hair and the deep hue that fit perfectly with her.

She was shivering in his arms. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not. His body was already making a quick retreat to the castle. Fear of jostling Raven kept him from leaping over objects but he trusted his body to go into an auto piloted mode. He wanted to flip her over and check her back but he took the sign of not feeling warmth spread over his fur as a good sign. If she was bleeding he would either smell it or feel it.

It was hard not to notice things about Raven even with the state she was in. Her body temperature was cool enough to the point where he could feel it through his fur and her neck rolled dangerously in his arms when he moved too suddenly. He restrained the urge to yell at her as his pace quickened. It was his fault she was like this. If he had just kept his mouth shut. If he had just enjoyed the peace for a few moments longer and thought about things this would have never happened.

He wasn't sure what had urged him to say something like that to her. He had honestly just been testing the waters. Trying to gage what made Raven ticked. What would cause her to get uncomfortable and what would she just laugh off. In all honesty it might have been a small test to see how much she hated him. Her response of complete shock and appall had only pushed him further.

He shook his head. Raven was not able to cope with 'monster' humor despite her protest of just not finding it funny earlier. He would never bring up his death again or what he expected her to do afterwards. It was unfair in a way to ask that of her. He and his mum weren't really close.

He kicked down the gate with ease and was about to do the same with the door before it pulled open revealing a host of magically enchanted items waiting for his return.

"Draw a bath," he said lazily trying to hide his pure panic.

Raven was seemingly asleep in his arms but her breathing was harsh and irregular. She had her fingers intertwined in his fur and her face pressed closely to his chest. It was as if she was trying to draw in his warmth.

"A warm one," he added.

"Why did you do that?" Jinx piped up breaking the nervous silence in the room.

"Do what?"

If a towel could give you a dirty look and kill you with it Jinx would be the one to do it. Somehow the towel seemed to radiate an aura of what could only be taken as pissed off. He smiled sheepishly and went to place Raven down on a bench near the entry way. She shivered and clung to him while letting out a soft noise that almost sounded like a plea. His smile disappeared as he readjusted her so that she was resting in the same position in his arms again.

He heard a collective sigh around the room and rolled his eyes.

"I'll go draw the bath," Roy said exiting the room and finally responding to Jason's order from earlier.

"Do you really think that could be the way to break the curse?"

"I told you all what that old bird said to me… I think it's unwise to hope though. She'll never return the feeling."

There were no words of encouragement. The entire castle knew that Raven hated him. She had made no secret of it, and had even asked a few of them what they thought the best tactic to kill him would be. Obviously she hadn't thought out her kitchen plot but she was smart. Surely when she had rested and actually recovered from her wounds she would think of a more sinister plot than starving him.

"But she's clinging on to you for dear life," Jinx pointed out.

"Because she's losing her life," he hissed holding her closer aware that she could very well be contradicting a deadly disease from the cold. He rubbed her arms and tenderly rubbed her back trying to warm her cold body. She shivered and pressed her face further into his chest.

"Karen seems to think there could be something more."

He scoffed. Jinx had no clue what Raven had told Karen then obviously. Raven had admitted to her hatred for him. He would have to have a stern talking to Karen later about falsifying people's hope in a dark hour. It was better to just accept their fate and be ready for it. He picked Jinx up without listening to her threating words and protests and wrapped her around Raven's torso, before making his way towards the bath house.

"I'm not helping you take care of her again," Jinx hissed as they descended a flight of stairs and took a sharp left. They were close to his wing of the castle and it unnerved him just how untouched everything was here. It was odd how he had never noticed it before.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying. I. Won't. Help. You," she growled.

"Then help her," he whispered as the crossed the threshold for the bath house. Jinx didn't say anything else but tuck herself firmly around Raven's side.

It was warmer here than anywhere else in the castle. Stream rose from the water in exotic waves as if a personal invitation. The scent of oils wafted up and greeted his nose and caused Raven stirred slightly in his arms. He placed her down at the edge of the tub and was just about to turn around and leave when he heard a soft whisper.

"Don't go."

It was Raven's voice. It was so soft and almost broken sounding. He repressed a growl and tried to reassure himself that she had probably only caught a cold going out like that. She had only been gone most of the day; the sun hadn't even set yet.

He didn't verbally answer afraid that he would scold her. He just sat down on the floor next to her.

Raven's eyes were glazed over and her face was flushed. Her eyelids kept drooping as if she was having a hard time keeping them open. She leaned herself against the back of the tub and looked at him.

"You look different," she croaked after a moment.

"We should get you in the bath," he said calmly feeling worry triumph over his temporary vow of silence.

Her hands began to tug off her clothes weakly exposing her pale flesh beneath. He closed his eyes and scooted closer helping her tug off the rest of her clothes then he gently scooped her up into his arms and placed her into the bath. Her sigh of relief and relaxation was audible.

"I'm a lot weaker than I thought… need more training," she mumbled and he heard the splash of water. He couldn't help but peak slightly only to nearly jump into the tub himself. He leaned over and grabbed Raven's head keeping it level and out of the water as she sputtered.

"My bad," he whispered closing his eyes again before they could catch a look at her feminine attributes.

"She could have died if it was just us in here," Jinx whispered. He tried not to let that sentence get to him. Of course he was the only one in the castle with hands. It was best that he stayed around in a situation like this. He just wasn't sure if Raven would have wanted him too. _Don't go. _

Was that really her wish or a dying girl trying to cling to life by holding on to something she found comforting? He wasn't about to fool himself about that. Raven's unconscious state always wound up clinging to him. It was simply because his fur was soft.

"You're going to have to wash her," Jinx said after a moment.

She was doing this on purpose. Trying to see what his limit was with Raven. Washing her required opening his eyes and then seeing her like this. He didn't want to see her so broken. He didn't want to acknowledge that the trip to the castle had felt like hours of torture because he had been terrified of looking at her too closely. Even when they had gotten back he had just noticed the essentials. He wasn't sure if he could handle seeing her so exposed and knowing that she would never let him under any condition.

"I can wash myself."

As weak as she sounded there was a bite to her tone. He found a smile forming over his lips. He was just being melodramatic. Raven was fine. No need to get so worked up. She sat up releasing his hold on her head and he heard the gentle slosh of the bath water rocking. He moved to face the wall and opened his eyes. It was peaceful. The warm air was intoxicating and seemed to want to lure him to sleep. He kept his eyes open waiting patiently for Raven to finish in case she needed his assistance.

He heard Raven sigh as the sound of scrubbing could be heard and water rising over a body.

"Um… are there any other towels?" Raven asked after hearing this motion repeated several times.

Oh right… she didn't trust Jinx. She didn't trust any of them for that matter but he was sure Jinx's little stunt of drugging may have caused deeper mistrust.

"Nope. You are stuck with me," Jinx laughed and he heard a grunt of protest and a splash of water.

"Will you let me check your back?" he asked suddenly.

There was a pregnant pause.

"If you give me some clothes," her tone was curt and nothing short of indifferent. At least she was back to being normal. He couldn't help but let his smile grow wider.

()()()()()()()()()

After the ordeal of having to find a pair of clean clothes and then draining all the water from the tub, Jason was now allowed to check on Raven's back. He had excused himself to wash off his own hands because Raven's bath water had left his fur with a red tint. He would rather be clean than have an extra reminder than his claws were the cause of all this.

Raven was on her bed, her face down in the pillow with her shirt raised to expose her back. Eight long claw marks forming a large red X crossed her back. How fitting. Here he was scaring her emotionally and physically. He pushed the thought from his mind and sat down to study his handy work with the stitches. Only a few had come lose and in several areas where the cuts were shallower she was almost healed.

He took his time cleaning her wounds carefully before applying fresh bandages. He stood up to leave when something clasped his arm.

It took him a moment to register that it was Raven's pale hand keeping him from moving.

"Don't go," she whispered. Her voice muffled since it was still pressed firmly into the pillow.

His heart dropped in his chest. He had two choices. Pull his arm free from her grip and leave, or he could stay and watch over her for the night. She was still recovering. It had been a rough week on her body and then she had exposed herself to the cold. It was a miracle in itself that she had a small case of sniffles and that none of her wounds had reopened.

He found himself sitting precariously at the edge of the bed gazing down at her. Her face was still hidden in the pillow but her shoulder's tensed at his weight joining hers on the bed. She let out a long breath and turned her head to the side. Her eye was shut and her lips were curled back in a grimace.

"I don't understand you," she said after a moment. "You aren't a normal criminal."

He nodded waiting for her to continue.

"You realize that just because you are inactive as a thief you are still a criminal."

He nodded.

"You broke hundreds of laws, led a small rebellion against the crown, and trespassed into the sacred grounds of Azarath. By my right as a guard you and I should be enemies. We should hate each other," her voice sounded smaller and her eye twitched slightly. "But I can't find it in myself to hate you. Why?"

He shrugged feeling a large smile steal over his lips. She said she didn't hate him. That was all that mattered to him in this moment. Even if she had said it in a spur of the moment type of thing to Karen she had just been angry then. He could live with dislike and disdain but hatred was something harder to swallow.

"You have your own catch phrase for when you fight with guards when they ask you why you do the things you do. You say 'I'm only looking out for Number One' yet… yet you've looked out for me. You've treated my wounds and given me a place to rest and clothes for my back… I just don't understand. What is your motive?" her voice raised by the end of her question and she sat herself up. She was staring at him hard in the face, with her cheeks flushed and her chest rising and falling in a pant.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her down to rest on her pillow.

"I don't have a motive," he whispered. He was afraid that she would see through his lie. He had one but he doubted she would believe it. He barely believed it himself. That some part of him cared a bit deeper for her than a simple companion to spend out the rest of his days. He actually looked forward to seeing her and hearing her witty sharp replies to whatever he said. She might be the only friend he had ever made in his life and it unnerved him. He didn't want to say something stupid and lose her; he had almost lost her once today.

"That just doesn't make sense," she growled and pulled his arm.

He let himself fall into bed next to her careful to keep from touching her and stared straight up at the ceiling with interest.

"It doesn't make sense to me either. Trust me on that little bird."

There was silence. He normally hated silence he found it awkward and uncomfortable. From what he could tell Raven didn't mind it, her eyes were closed peacefully now and her breathing regulated. A small smile even was gracing her lips.

"You know there does seem to be something different about you," she said breaking the silence as if she felt his unease.

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. You seem less hairy or something. Maybe your snout isn't as long or your teeth don't look as sharp. You seem less… sinister."

"Well gee thanks," he faked a pout and heard Raven chuckle slightly.

"Well it's good… in a way," she whispered before she rolled over facing the other side of the bed. Maybe that was a Raven way to give a compliment. He smiled and rolled over to face the opposite side she was facing, their backs presented to each other.

Despite how deadly they both knew the other could be trust wasn't an issue. They were just going to sleep. The soft bed and warm blankets beckoned them to sleep.

()()()()()()()

The next morning the sun shone brightly through the thick currents on the windows. Jason felt a something warm on his torso and held it closer to his chest. He was extremely comfortable for once. He was dimly aware that he wasn't in his own room but at the moment it didn't matter because he could tell he was still within the castle. He let his eyes open slightly before growling and closing them again. It was too bright.

His growl seemed to trigger something though. Whatever he was holding to his chest was now thumping him rather hard and starting to squeal. His eyes shot open sleep leaving him in an instant.

"Good morning little bird," he cooed enjoying Raven's look of disgust as she hit his chest harder with a bit more force. He winced slightly.

"I told you not to call me that," she growled, "and get OFF me!"

"You have to say the magic word," he teased squeezing her to his chest just to rub it in her face more than she was captured by him. "Besides you were the one last night that rolled me over so you could cuddle."

Raven went still in his arms as if she was trying to recount such an incident. He wasn't really sure what had happened to get them into this position but he wasn't the one complaining.

"Would you _please_ get off of me," she grumbled after a moment her face flushed red.

He took a moment to make a show of stroking his chin and thinking it over. On one hand it was fun taunting Raven so much and he really was quiet comfortable. On the other hand she was obviously going to make him pay for this. So with that in mind he might as well make the best of the situation and continue holding her. He might as well earn the punishment he was going to receive later.

"Hmmm no," he teased.

Raven didn't respond. Her mouth was formed in a perfect 'o' shape and her eyes were wide in wonder.

"Uhh Jason?" Raven's voice had lost its threat and that slightly unnerved him. What unnerved him even more so was that panic seemed set in her voice.

"Yeah?" he released his hold. He noticed that she was studying his face with wide eyes.

"You have a nose."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well duh. I've always had a nose."

"No I mean you have a human nose. Look," she leaned over the bed side table and handed him a small mirror.

What met his gaze in the reflection was odd. His snout was gone and in place a human nose rested. It was his nose. He found his hands running up to touch and feel it to see if it was really there. His hands! Almost all the fur had left and the claws hand shrunken down considerably. He smiled and his reflection showed that his teeth were still sharp and pointed but they did look smaller. He felt his tail wag and he started to inspect his body.

"I'm going to die human!" he laughed and leapt out of bed. After all he only had around three months until his twenty first birthday.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hey everyone. Sorry about that long wait for the new chapter the holidays were a bit hetic for me. My birthday is coming up soon too so I probably won't post until after that. Because one. New school semster starting soon. And Two working so much lately I won't have time to write. I shall attempt to write another chapter soon though but please don't expect it until at least after Jan. 10th (my bday). Ten reviews and we'll see if I can post it sooner ;)


	9. Research

**A/N: IMPORTANT READ FIRST! **You guys know I detest placing author notes at the top of the story right? Either way I have a few important notes. Although this story is roughly based off the Disney plot I couldn't help but compare an old classic. I did write my own beginning for it and it starts in italics and ends with an *. After that point and time the rest was written by an unknown author and their works are here simply to make a reference in relation to this story. I don't own that in any way shape or form. Too bad they were annoymous at the time I would like to give them more credit. Okay so you guys have no clue what I'm talking about but hopefully you will see later on in this chapter. Anyways on with the show ... :D

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Nine: Research**

It felt good to be clean. She wished she could return to the bath house and wash herself again, despite the fact that she was now clean, she felt dirty. Maybe that was just a residual effect from being dirty for about a week straight. She ran her fingers through her hair absently enjoying the silky like texture. She hated feeling greasy hair or blood being caked on top of a wound. It felt good to stretch and not feeling the disgusting feeling of dried blood cracked.

Her fingers twirled in her hair causing a tuff of hair to spiral in front of her face. She grew annoyed with the piece of hair and attempted to tuck it behind her ear. She debated on finding the bath house and drawing her own bath but thought better of it. She was clean and with Jason running around the castle 'celebrating' it was best to stay out of sight.

The Beast was slowly losing the features that he had had when she first arrived here that was true but his half form was just as disturbing as his full form. His teeth seemed unwilling to stay inside his mouth and protruded out in odd angles while he talked or smiled, his ears were still oddly shaped but where lowering to the side of his head like they would on a human, his fur was thinning in random areas giving him the appearance that he was balding, and his height was a little bit more contorted. She did notice however that he hadn't lost any muscle mass, instead his almost lean like physic was more defined as his height became more realistic. Instead of a towering seven feet tall he seemed more like six and a half feet give or take an inch.

His changed features, however, wasn't what was causing her to avoid him. What was causing her to avoid him was the fact that he kept talking about how he was going to die human and he seemed so content with that fact.

"You know maybe the curse is breaking and he won't die," Karen said thoughtfully in her corner as Raven twirled a different piece of hair in a bored manner. Well she was bored.

"Curse?"

She had guessed as much but it had been taboo to mention among the 'servants'. Maybe this would be her opportunity to finally get a few straight answers out about what exactly was going on. Much to her disappointment though, Karen went into 'dead' mode leaving Raven alone in a room. Twisting her hair idly she sighed dramatically.

"I thought roommates were supposed to be fun," she casted a sideways glance at the dresser to see it leaning forward slightly and pouted. It felt unnatural and she knew she couldn't pull this look off well but it was part of being Captain of the guard. She had to be a master of pulling information out of people, or in this case, people trapped in inanimate objects. Her approach was normally much less subtle and much more direct.

She sighed when no response came and flopped over to her back to stare at the ceiling. Dropping her piece of hair she began to pull on a lose thread of her shirt. She sighed again for a dramatic effect.

"Alright, alright fine," Karen mumbled, hopping forward so that she was closer to the bed. "Don't ever act that badly again though. I might have to jump out of the window," she grumbled under her breath.

Raven chuckled at her statement and propped herself on her elbows to peer at her earnestly.

"I'm curious," she offered and shrugged waiting for Karen to divulge some details.

"I… it's not really in my place to tell you…" Karen started. "Actually it's not my place at all," she sounded nervous.

"You know it's an awful day out today. Why don't you go check out the library and curl up with a good book."

Raven felt a growl escape her throat but she noticed that Karen's voice seemed off. It seemed like she was hinting at something.

"There's a library here?" Raven asked despite herself feeling a spike of curiosity.

"Oh, of course. This is a castle after all. You seem like the type of girl that would love to check out the research section. Or maybe an old classic. That's near the back of the library dear," Karen hopped forward to the door and opened with ease. It looked quite difficult though and Raven wasn't sure how she pulled that off without any hands.

"Library's on the first floor next to the dining hall," Karen offered and slammed the door with a little more force than needed as Raven exited.

Well that was weird.

Raven felt her feet following Karen's directions and hurried. The last thing she wanted to see at the moment was Jason. He would probably do something weird as well, like trying to talk about poetry like he had earlier. She cringed at the painful conversation. He really had no clue what he was talking about and when confronted he shrugged and said that Roy told him all girls like poetry. She would have to sit down and make him read Shakespeare and see if that changed his opinion on the crap he had tried talking to her about.

At least he was attempting to be pleasant.

She made it to the library without incident. Like everything in the castle it was immaculately clean and the floors looked like they had just been polished. It was dark though, for the curtains were drawn and the day was so overcast hardly any light slipped through. She searched for a lantern and struggled to light it for a second. The bright light in her hands seemed to blind her for a moment and she stood still to let her eyes adjust to the intruding light.

Slowly she began to let her eyes wander over the large room.

Books were stacked in piles on desks as if they had recently been looked through; a few papers were torn and spread out along the ground in a disastrous way. Part of her wanted to bend down and clean up the room but something screamed off. As clean as it was in here this had been left untouched for a reason, it was better off leaving it how it was.

She ignored the piles of papers and slowly made her way to the darkest area of the library. The only area that escaped her light and the feeble light that managed its way in through the window was the back of the library.

Her heart raced as her lantern slowly illuminated it, unsure of what could possibly be waiting her. She scoffed when all that met her was a few empty shelves one at the end of the row filled with what looked like journals or research notes, with a small black leather bound book resting in the middle. Gold letters flickered in the light and she found her curiosity taking over. She glanced at the perfect spiral writing, _Cursed Roses_.

Cursed. Curse. Her hand was reaching out before she could even think of the consequences and the book was pulled into her lap as she sat down and leaned on the book shelf. She flicked open the book her eyes scanning the words for a moment before she went back to check on something. The author. There wasn't one mentioned. She shrugged before resuming her reading.

_Cursed Roses_

_A long time ago in a forgotten kingdom by the sea lived a handsome and spoiled prince. He was cruel and refused to protect the forest by the sea. It angered the people but they were powerless to do anything against him. They began to starve as the wildlife was slowly depleted. It just so happened that luck was on nature's side. For in a deep cave not far from them thrived a fairy that loved her forest. She was tricky and avoided humans at times and she had no intention of helping them. However she hated to see the trees being chopped down and the forest creatures leaving the area and she felt pity in her heart for the wailing humans. She resolved to put an end to the suffering her forest was feeling. _

_She disguised herself as an ugly old maid and went to the prince to beg for the forest to be spared, hoping to give the handsome prince a chance. For it is well known that fairies have a weakness for beauty, and the prince was dashing. In exchange for the forest she offered the prince a single rose and told him to give it to the one true love of his life._

_The prince just laughed and tossed the rose into the fairy's face and tossed her out of his castle calling her mad. Enraged at his treatment she stormed back to the castle in her true form and placed a curse on him and the rose. Telling him that he had to find a girl to love him in his hideous form and he had to love her in return to break the curse._

_Years went by and the prince passed his time by replanting the forest and as a cruel reminder to himself he planted a large rose garden in the grounds of his castle. __*****_

Raven paused. This sounded an awful lot like the fairy tale collection of The Grim Brothers. She wanted to laugh and say it was only just a fairy tale but she couldn't bring herself to do so. If her Beast had once been human who was to say that magic fairies hadn't been involved? Fairies were tricky characters. There was no chapter placement as she looked down just another paragraph with a sudden new feel to the story as if it had been written by a different person.

_There was once a merchant who had been very rich at one time, but who, having had heavy losses, was compelled to retire to a little cottage in the country; where he lived with this three daughters. The two elder ones were very much discontented at their poverty and were always grumbling and making complaints. But the youngest one, who was called Beauty, and who was as amiable as she was handsome, tried all she could to comfort her father and make his home happy. _

_Once when he was going on a journey to try and mend his affairs, he called them around him, and asked what he should bring them when he returned. The two elder ones wanted each a number of nice presents; but Beauty, kissing him sweetly, said she would be content with a rose. So when the merchant was on his way back, he came to an elegant garden, of which the gate stood open; and thinking of Beauty's rose, he went in, and plucking a beautiful one, prepared to proceed on his journey. _

She could see exactly where this was going and the lesson that was told behind it. It didn't stop her from reading as she was held literally ensnared in the book. Was this some type of clue of what had happened to Jason? Or was this a different Beast all together. Was it possible that this story was true? Her thoughts were muted as she continued to absorb the words as if they flowed off the page and into her.

_As he turned to go, he saw a hideous Beast coming towards him, armed with a sword! This terrible creature reproached him for stealing his flowers, of which he was very choice; and threatened to kill him on the spot! The merchant begged for his life, and said, that he had only taken "a single one to please his daughter Beauty." On this, the beast said gruffly, "well, I will let you off, if you will bring one of your daughters here in your place. But she must come here _willingly_, and meanwhile you may stay and rest in my palace until to-morrow." But, as you may well believe, the poor father did not feel much like eating or sleeping; although everything was done for his comfort, and, in the morning, the Beast sent him home upon a beautiful horse. But though the birds sang around him, and the sun shone brightly, and all the nature was smiling on his path, the heart of the poor merchant was heavy, when he thought of his beloved daughters._

_When he came near his home, his children came forth to meet him; but, seeing the sadness of his face, and his eyes filled with tears, they asked him the cause of his trouble. Giving the rose to Beauty, he told her all. The two elder sisters laid all the blame upon Beauty; who cried bitterly, and said that as _she_ was the cause of her father's misfortune, she alone must suffer for it, and was quiet willing to go. So Beauty got ready for the journey at once. The father (who meant to return to the Beast _himself_, after embracing his children) tried to dissuade her, but in vain; and so the two set out together for the Beast's palace, much to the secret joy of the envious sisters. _

_When they arrived at the palace, the doors opened themselves, sweet music was heard, and they found an elegant supper pre-pared. As soon as they had refreshed themselves, the Beast entered, and said in a mild tone, "Beauty, did you come here willingly to take the place of your father?" "Yes, sir," she answered in a sweet but trembling voice. "So much the better for you," replied the Beast. "Your father can stay here to-night, but he must go in the morning." The Beast then retired, giving Beauty so kind a look as he went out, that she felt quite encouraged. The next morning, when her father left her, she cheered his heart by telling him that she thought she could soften the Beast's heart, and induce him to spare her life. After he was gone, she entered an elegant room, on the door of which was written, in letters of gold, "Beauty's room."_

_Lying on the table was a portrait of herself, set in gold and diamonds, and on the wall, these words: _"Beauty is Queen here; all things will obey her." _Her meals were served to the sound of music; and at supper-time, the Beast after knocking timidly, would walk in and talk so amiably, that she soon lost all fear of him; and once when he failed to come, felt quite disappointed! At last, one night, he said to her, "Am I so very ugly?" "Yes, indeed, you are," said Beauty, "but you are so kind and generous, that I do not mind your looks." "Will you marry me, then, dear Beauty?" said the poor Beast, with a look of such eager entreaty in his eyes that Beauty's heart melted within her, and she was upon the point of saying, "Yes!"_

_But happening to look towards him, at that moment her courage failed her, and, turning away her heard, she replied softly, "Oh! Do not ask me." The Beast then bade her good-night, with a sad voice, and went away sighing as if his heart would break. The palace was full of rooms, containing the most beautiful objects. In one room she saw numerous troupe of monkeys, of all sizes and colors. They came to meet her, making her very low bows, and treating her with the greatest respect. Beauty was much pleased with them, and asked them to show her about the palace. Instantly, two tall and graceful apes, in rich dresses, placed themselves, with great gravity, one on each side of her, while two sprightly little monkeys held up her train as pages. And from this time forth they waited upon her wherever she went, with all the attention and respect, that officers of a royal palace were accustomed to pay the greatest Queens and Princesses._

Raven scoffed for a moment debating on placing the book down and going through the hand written journals that were above her. She did not like this Beauty for she was cruel and shallow and thought only of herself. Besides the girls sacrifice to take her father's place the girl had done nothing but burden the poor beast. Raven couldn't help but notice some differences within the story that caused her to relax. At first it sounded so very much like her own that she was tempted to look for the author again. However even if this castle was enchanted it was different from Raven's and Raven was most certainly not the 'Queen' of it. She was its captive, its prize.

_In fact, Beauty was the Queen of this splendid palace. She had only to wish for anything to have it; and she would have been quite contented if she could have had some company; for, except at supper-time, she was always alone! Then the Beast would come in and behave so agreeably, that she liked him more and more. And he would say to her "dear Beauty will you marry me?" in his soft and tender way, she could hardly find it in her heart to refuse him._

_Now, although Beauty had everything that heart could wish, she could not forget her father and sisters. At last, one evening she begged so hard to go home for a visit, that the Beast consented to her wish, on her promising not to stay more than two months. He then gave her a ring, telling her to place it on her dressing-table, when she wished to either to go or to return; and showed her a wardrobe filled with the most elegant clothes, as well as a quantity of splendid presents for her father and sisters. _

_The poor Beast was more sad than ever, after he had given his consent to her absence. It seemed to him as if he could not look at her enough, nor muster courage to leave her. She tried to cheer her, saying, "Be of good heart, Beauty will soon return," but nothing seemed to comfort him, and he went sadly away. _

_Beauty felt very badly when she saw how much the poor Beast suffered. She tried, however, to dismiss him from her thoughts, and to think only of the joy of seeing her dear father and sisters on the morrow. Before retiring to rest, she took good care to place the ring upon the table, and great was her joy, on awaking the next morning, to find herself in her father's house, with the clothes and gifts from the palace at her bed-side!_

_At first she hardly knew where she was, for everything looked strange to her; but soon she heard the voice of her father, and rushing out of the room, threw her loving arms around his neck. Beauty then related all the kindness and delicacy of the Beast toward her, and in return discovered that he had been as liberal to her father and sisters. He had given them the large and handsome house in which they now lived, with an income sufficient to keep them in comfort. _

_For a long time Beauty was happy with her father and sisters; but she soon discovered that her sisters were jealous of her, and envied her fine dresses and jewels the Beast had given her. She often thought tenderly of the poor Beast, alone in his palace; and as the two months were now over, she resolved to return to him as she had promised. But her father could not bear to lose her again, and coaxed her to stay with him a few days longer; which she at last consented to do, with many misgivings, when she thought of her broken promise to the lonely Beast. At last, on the night before she intended to return, she dreamed that she saw the unhappy beast lying dead on the ground in the palace garden! She awoke, all trembling with terror and remorse, and, leaving a note on the table for her dear father; placed the ring within her bosom, and wished herself back again in the palace. As soon as daylight appeared, she called her attendants, and searched the palace from top to bottom. But the Beast was nowhere to be found! She then ran to the garden, and there, in the very spot that she had seen in her dream, lay the poor Beast, gasping and senseless upon the ground; and seeming to be in the agonies of death! At this pitiful sight, Beauty clasped her hands, fell upon her knees, and reproached herself bitterly for having caused his death._

"_Alas! Poor Beast!" she said, "I am the cause of this. How can I ever forgive myself for my unkindness to you, who were so good and generous to me, and mine, and never even reproached me for my cruelty?"_

Raven slammed the book shut unable to read anymore. She didn't want to know the rest, she didn't want to know if the Beast magically lived or if he died in a tragic way in Beauty's arms for one last glance. It wasn't fair, she was tempted to scan over the rest of it but she couldn't. She started to think things over.

In the beginning of the story there had been mention of a cave. Often time's people in town would mention a cave and forbidden passing travelers from visiting it and this castle was old, and the ocean was somewhat nearby. Even if it was the same castle, it wasn't the same situation. As far as she knew there were no rose bushes outside and her Beast was definitely not as agreeable as the one mentioned in the book.

The Fairy. It was the same Fairy that cursed these two and while the first Beast had been spoiled and cruel in the beginning of the story his form being changed had made him obviously learn his lesson. Again her hand twitched and she was tempted to read the rest of the story to find out his ending. She wondered what her Beast could have done to get such a curse. Did he have a cursed rose somewhere? Some type of memoriam of the fairy? She briefly wondered what the fairy looked like and if she lifted the curse on the other Beast.

What were Jason's conditions? Why was he gaining human features when the other Beast had stayed the same? What were the differences? She hit her head on the back of the shelf in frustration as she let out a deep sigh.

Could it be that love was the cure to the curse?

Her heart stopped for one heart breaking second. No. That could not be it, she barely tolerated him.

In the back of her mind something stirred and pulled itself forward.

Friendship?

Friendship seemed more believable. In the week or so she had been here it was becoming clear that Jason did want to harm her and had saved her life a few times. It could be possible but did that mean she returned the same affection?

Sure he offered more witty comments than the other enchanted items in this castle, and sure he dined with her occasionally, but that meant next to nothing. She begrudgingly found herself admitting that she did in a small way, trust him. She trusted him enough to care for her when she was wounded and treat the most exposed area of a body. Her back. Maybe that was why she felt inclined to trust him.

Still something wasn't adding up. Something wasn't right. She sighed and let her head fall back on the bookshelf as if she was trying to jog her memory.

A piece of paper pulled free from one of the journals and feel harmlessly into her lap. Her eyes widened as she glanced over its contents.

()()()()()()()

"I should have gone instead," Garfield whispered and felt his hands twinge uncomfortably in his lap. "Look at this disaster. Raven would have known what to do," he sighed and let his head fall into his hands. He looked much older than fifteen at the moment. He had dark circles under his eyes and deep lines on his face. His hair was limp and getting in his eyes occasionally. Richard felt compelled to pat him on the back lightly.

He wasn't sure what words to offer the younger boy. He couldn't tell him that Raven was fine and that Victor would pull out of it and remember everything that happened. He couldn't tell him it wasn't his fault because given the situation he wasn't sure if it was or not. All he knew was that he felt a horrible pang of loneliness whenever was Raven was mentioned he wasn't sure how he was able to function.

"I need you to tell me everything about that night," he said firmly. He would get to the bottom of this, if it was the last thing he did.

He had pulled Garfield aside for just this reason. Terra had been of no use for she seemed quiet unaffected by her leader's sudden disappearance and Kori had no idea what had happened. She said that Garfield had told her that Raven had gone to visit her mother and that when he tried to call her back he wasn't getting a response.

Only Victor's sheer panic had affirmed to him that wasn't the case. Raven. Something had happened and Garfield and Victor were possibly behind it, or they were covering up for her. Kori still seemed oblivious and could hardly be taken from Victor's beside so he left her out of it. When Victor woke up that would be another matter but for now he had to settle on getting information from Garfield.

"I told you Raven said she had to go visit her mother. That something really important came up and then later that night Victor showed up in this weird horseless carriage all battered up."

His eyes darted left and away from Richard's gaze. He was lying.

"I want the truth. If we are going to find Raven I need you to be cooperative," he said gravely. He wanted nothing more than to shake this kid and beat some sense into him. Garfield sighed, his green eyes studying his face hard for a moment.

"She doesn't love you that way," he said not cruelly but it sent a pang through Richard's heart.

"Don't change the subject. You must want her back here with us just as much as I do," he growled.

Garfield sighed again and rubbed his hand down his face.

"I'm sure that Raven can handle her _mother_, and that whatever is keeping her held up won't for much longer. I trust my Captain," he said the last part quietly as if he was having a hard time believing it himself.

It was funny how easily Garfield and the others had pretty much admitted him to the Guard ranks. Although it hadn't been a very well-kept secret he still wasn't supposed to know, and although they made him take a vow to protect Kori with his life they all knew he was just doing this for Raven.

"If Raven can handle her _mother_ than why did you say you should have gone instead?"

"Miss Roth is like a mother to all of us. I would do anything for her in her failing health and since Raven is the Captain it would be more appropriate that she was here. Only she could have never seen this coming…" he said without missing a beat. If his eyes hadn't shifted downwards slightly he might have believed him.

_Hang on Raven_, he thought as he pulled out a quill and parchment to take notes. It was bound to be a long night of interrogation.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **The real author note hahahaha. Okay so I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed. You guys are simply awesome. I'm sad to say that I'm starting a new school semester so my writing and updates will be less. I am posting this before my birthday simple for that reason. I'm in progress with the next chapter though so hopefully I can have this story finished soon.

**In other news I have a poll up on my page**. I'm a bit torn on if Jason should** die or not**. I have two plot points I can take this story with, one where he lives and one where he dies. I want you guys to vote! Hurry I'm only going to wait about 2 weeks before I take it down and decide where to go with the story.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. You guys make my heart swell with pride at this story. I would thank you all personally but I try to send people P'Ms in response to their reviews. Sadly I don't think I'll be able to do that much longer. So I'm not ignoring you guys I'm simply busy with my crazy beautiful life. I'll try to place a special section after the story to thank all of my reviews and leave a little drabble about how awesome they are.

Now I'll shut up. Glad you guys are enjoying the story and I hope to hear back on the poll and in review form. Until next time~

Oceanwind


	10. Resting

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Ten: Resting**

"What the hell is this?" she hissed holding up the piece of paper. She would have liked to have a desk or some flat surface to slam it down dramatically and it took all she had to hold it still and unwavering for Jason's inspection.

"A piece of paper with a drawing on it," Jason answered nonchalantly and looked down to study his hands with a sudden interest.

"A drawing of me," Raven glowered. Her fingers flexed slightly causing the paper to cringle and Jason to look up.

"What about it? Whoever drew it didn't do a terrible job… although the shading on your upper lip makes it look like you have a mustache," he said prying the paper from her and studying it with interest.

"How'd you come across this?" He asked mildly before Raven could respond.

"In the library," she offered her voice still heated.

Jason raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn't reply he folded the paper easily and tucked it into his back pocket. Since the hair on his body was quickly leaving he had taken to wearing more clothing. Today he donned a pair of slacks with a hole trimmed out for his tail, but that was it.

"I'll be sure to have whoever drew this punished," he said easily his tone oddly calm.

"There's two more like it in a black book in the library. There's even one of me sleeping…" she trailed off realizing something.

"You're the only one with hands."

Jason winced and thanked having enough hair on his face to hide his rising blush.

"Oh come off it. You came here suspecting me anyways," he mumbled turning around sharply and making his way down the hall way and towards the library.

He was thankful when she just let the subject drop. He could tell by her flushed face that she wanted to yell at him.

"Why?"

He had misjudged the silence of dropping it. He sighed and looked over his shoulder as casually as he could possibly manage.

"If you had an artistic ability and a faulty memory wouldn't you want to preserve something?"

Silence greeted him but this time he stayed on guard. His shoulder's drawn tight and his legs stiff. He was expecting her to attack or something. Obviously she thought it was weird. Granted it was weird and he wasn't about to tell her the real reason why he drew her. Like everything involved with Raven and himself he still wasn't sure what the reason was either.

"You really think you're going to forget me?"

She sounded so small and hurt. He couldn't help but sigh and turn to face her fully.

"I don't want the world to forget you," he half teased and took the piece of paper out of his pocket. He looked at it hard for a moment debating on what he should do with it before he timidly placed it back in her hands.

Raven looked surprised but she didn't flinch when their hands brushed up against each other for a moment longer than necessary. Her eyes just studied his face and he felt uncomfortable. It was like she was trying to read him or something. After a moment she let out a breath of air and shook her head while a small smirk placed itself on her lips.

"That's noble of you," she answered bringing him back to what they had been talking about. "I found out about the Curse," she said evenly and her eyes went back to his face, studying.

Half the advantage of being a Beast was that his facial expressions were harder to read. When he smiled or laughed often times it could be taken as a snarl or something sinister like that. He was caught off guard though. Raven knew that. It was a complete change of subject and he wasn't prepared.

He felt his lips curl back in disgust at the mere mention of curse and his fur bristle along his back. He ran his hand along his neck and took a deep breath.

"What about it?" he managed to ask keeping his voice as level as hers. After all it was obvious explanation for nothing else could be the reason why he was no longer human.

"That a fairy of the forest cursed you, that you probably have some type of magically artifact somewhere, that there is some way to break the spell, and that the spell is weakening for whatever reason," she ticked off the answers on her hand while her eyes stayed locked on him.

"You sure are a bright little bird," he mumbled lowering his eyes.

He heard her scoff and then silence consumed them. They were near the dining hall and he had been about to go to lunch when she stormed up to him. Somehow the picture didn't seem to be the first thing on her mind, in fact she had already brushed it off and was focused on what she had just learned. Was she going to use it as some type of leverage or something?

"Is that why you kidnapped me?" her voice was small again and he chanced to look up at her. "Did you somehow wring information out of Victor about me and think 'Oh a female monk how amusing would that be to have her unintentionally lift the curse on me'", tears were threating to spill out of her eyes as she barely whispered the last part.

What the hell was she going on about now?

"Kidnapped you? You took your brother's place," he felt his confusion leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Don't lie. You've been to Azarath. You know my people possess powers to lift curses from our charkas," she pointed to her forehead where a bright red jewel glittered in the light faintly. It was odd but he had never noticed it until now.

"I thought it was just monks and monks by your people's definition can only be male," he felt so defensive. "Plus if I had just wanted that I would have kept your brother," he snapped.

"We aren't blood related. Surely you noticed that," her eyes were narrowed and they never left his face. Whatever she was searching for she found it as her tone softened.

"Alright I believe you," she finally sighed and took a step back.

He just realized how close they had been to a brawl. She had practically been leaning to yell at him right in his face and his fists were clenched at his sides. He blinked surprised and relaxed his pose. His confusion hadn't been cleared at all though.

"I didn't think you had a charka," he admitted, "at least I never noticed it."

Raven nodded and unfolded the paper. "Obviously or you would have drawn it. I just had to test you."

Her admitting that she had been merely testing him left a dry taste in his mouth. He had been tested once before and failed whatever it was miserably. He swallowed.

"Since I was once a monk in training and no more than that I am limited though. I don't think my charka is enough to break the curse on its own," she offered weakly and shrugged her shoulders.

He eyed her wearily. So she wasn't a full ledged monk, which meant that whatever spiritual power they had given her was unstable and most likely dangerous. He had seen a young boy in Azarath dashing through the streets absolutely insane because he had messed up some type of ritual. Her laughter broke his thoughts.

"Don't worry. They sealed off most of it," she said guessing at his thoughts, her voice was dark and her eyes narrowed. He suddenly realized that she had two more charkas, one on each hand. He wondered briefly if she had any on her feet.

"They?" he found himself asking despite himself.

She just looked at him and then wordlessly pointed to the seal of the Kingdom, of Tamera, that was stitched on to the tunic she was wearing. He found it odd that she always took time to place this little symbol on all of her clothes but he couldn't ask her why. It seemed forbidden, just like her.

"Enough about me. I just meant that I would lend you my services."

"For what?"

"To help you break the curse, of course."

()()()()()()()()()()()

"There are several different stories about this type of curse within your library," Raven said as she paced back and forth. Red X was sprawled along the floor looking more human than Beast. His fur was a light tan and almost skin colored in the light, and his hands and legs were in limbo of somewhere between Beast and man. It looked painful to walk but he never once complained.

"Yes I know this, Doll. I'm the one who _gathered_ all the books," he said in a bored tone, flipping through a book with disinterest.

"You mean stole," she growled before continuing, "They all have the same properties. So there must be some truth behind it," Raven snapped feeling exasperated at his antics as he rolled over to look at her.

"Don't you think I am a walking and living proof of it?" he asked.

She ignored him and continued her pacing.

"Almost all include a rose," she said.

"Which I don't have."

"Or an enchanted castle," she said ignoring him and picking up a book he had discarded.

"Which I do have," he said with a fake pip to his tone.

"Roses indicate love. Castles, wealth and power. You don't have either of those so what do you have in common," Raven said mumbling to herself.

"That hurt," he growled taking the book from her and pulling her so that she was sitting on his lap.

"Let go," she hissed her back rigid against his chest. Other than that though she made no move to get up and glared at the hands that held her fast to his chest.

"Hmm no," he said easily even chuckling when she slammed her head against his as if trying to disorientate him. For several days they had been at this. Searching the library and when that got to boring he found some way to entice her to a sparring match. It relieved stress and got them to work out making them forget about the impending doom that he was facing.

"Red X," she said softly.

That always broke him into releasing his grip on her no matter how much he wanted to spar. It hurt no matter what or how she addressed him, but it hurt the most when she called him Red X. He couldn't be sure why. His emotions were over flowing since she had come to this castle. One minute he could actually be happy and enjoying his time (something that had not happened since the curse) and the next moment he was trying hard not to act like the Beast he was.

Even though he had released his grip, Raven stayed in his lap. Another emotion came up then, something akin to contentment. He found himself humming in approval.

"Would you check my back? I think it's fully healed, and then we can spar," Raven said quietly and leaned forward so that her back wasn't pressed against him.

A reminder of why being called Red X hurt so much. Even if it had been on accident he still couldn't get over the fact that he was the one that left these angry red scars on Raven's back. It looked all the more perfect because of it though. It fit Raven. She was broken on the inside, he knew, he could tell when she stiffly mentioned her past, yet on the outside she was strong and powerful. No one would ever see Raven's back, so hurt and mutilated, no one would ever guess unless they saw it. Her back was a perfect description of her.

He found his fingers tracing the angry marks, not even realizing that he had tugged up her shirt and was doing what she requested. He pulled out a few threads of stitches that were no longer needed and then just like that he was done. His hands rested lamely at his sides although he yearned to caress Raven's warm skin some more. He found that reaction strange and restrained himself.

"You look all healed up," he said after a moment when she still didn't move.

"Then you can spar me without holding back," she said and looked at him over her shoulder. A wicked grin in place as her legs tangled around his neck.

()()()()()()()()()

They were resting in her bed. She found that this was slowly becoming her favorite part of the day. In the library Red X was often bored and indifferent and when they spared he was angry yet cautious. In bed though, they laid a safe distance away from each other and just talked. Slowly trying to piece together how to break the curse.

Raven didn't know that Jason knew the answer. He hadn't really mentioned about what had happened after the Fairy had slapped him and Raven never asked, or at least she didn't think to ask.

She was just giving him space. She knew that there was something off about his story, that there seemed to be something more but she didn't press him. After all he never pressed for details about her.

"Don't go," she whispered as Jason got up to leave. Besides the first time she had asked him to stay he had yet to comply with her request again.

Her heart pounded in her chest loudly every time she asked him to stay. She didn't like sleeping in this room alone and despite the risk of waking up and cuddling into his arms, she would rather have him stay. Every night since that first night he would just mutter a soft 'I can't' and leave the room quietly. Leaving Raven to a night full of nightmares. Tonight however, he hesitated.

He looked over her for a moment as if trying to read what she really wanted. Taking advantage of his hesitance, she reached out and grabbed his arm, slowly tugging him back into her bed.

"Raven," he whispered quietly and she heard the exasperation in his voice.

"Jason," she said evenly and gripped his arm tightly as he stirred.

He chuckled and threw the blanket over her. Slowly as if he was scared about her reaction he lowered his hand over hers and brought it to his lips. His breath danced across her hand and sent a shiver down her spine. That was just odd.

"You're just using me for my fur again," he teased and kissed the back of her hand and then he placed it over his chest.

"It's so warm and fluffy," she teased back and twirled her fingers in the soft curls.

"What happens when I lose it all when I'm human?" he asked.

The question threw her off and she turned to face him fully. What did happen then? Would he let her go? Could she return to her friends and brother and get back to her life? What would he do? Go back to a life of thievery?

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"We're so close to breaking the curse," he said making a show of yawning.

"Yeah," she yawned and with that she promptly rolled over and fell asleep.

Only she was barely in the stages of drifting off to sleep when she heard Karen in the corner say something to Jason.

"What does happen when you become human again?"

She had forgotten that more than one life rested on lifting this curse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Alright so this past weekend I was supposed to work a shit ton but luckily for you guys I caught the flu and spent my entire weekend on my computer which led to this chapter being writen. Going over it to check for errors was a bit unnerving because I have just written an (ENTIRE) story in the first person point of view to try my hand at it. If you are interested in One Piece I'd tell you go to check it out but this is Teen Titans. Anyways... my fever has left my brain not on par with my thoughts... I'm surprised I was actually able to write chapters that were understanable and followed my plot.

The poll is still up for you guys to vote... although I have already decided and I have started writing the next chapter anyways (I'm not going to tell you *laughs evilly*)

Thank you to my reviewers. You guys rock. If I wasn't in such a weird state right now I'd go back and thank all of you personally. I just need to get to sleep. I have school in the morning. *hangs head* why the hell I am I still up...?


	11. Thinking

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Eleven: Thoughts**

Her eyes glazed over as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. He looked so hurt and fragile. He looked almost nothing like the strong man she was in love with. He moaned in his sleep as he tossed slightly.

"Raven," he whispered.

She felt a sting in her heart. She knew she shouldn't. Raven went beyond and above requirements of her job. Raven was her friend. Yet hearing Victor say her name in his sleep was so unnerving. They claimed to have a sibling relationship and Kori had been there they day they met. She couldn't bring herself to believe it. Maybe it was out of jealousy, she wanted to be the only one who was in Victor's heart. The only girl. She wanted her name to be the name that he moaned when he needed comfort.

**Flashback Ten Years ago**

_The sun was shining brightly overhead. Kori smiled as she played tag with a younger looking boy and a few girls. A darker preteen was watching over them while lazily tossing large boulders into the river._

"_Victor~" Kori sang out. Her vibrant red hair bounced behind her as she dashed up to the young man, with a goofy grin in place. He rolled his eyes and threw another rock into the river causing it to splash up and soak them both. _

_He laughed and for a moment Kori pouted before her own laughter joined him._

"_You have to be the river monster while the rest of us try to swim across," she stated excitedly as her friends gathered around her. There were a few protests from the children as they eyed Victor._

"_He's bigger than us," one whined. _

"_He's older than us," another squealed._

"_He's stronger than us. We'll lose for sure," the boy grumbled. It was Garfield. He was two years younger than her and four years younger than Victor. _

"_Then you'll just have to be the valiant knight that saves the day," Victor told him and placed his hand on his shoulder giving it a reassuring squeeze. _

_And with that being said the playing began. They played for hours, thoroughly soaking their nice clothes and covering themselves with the mud from the river banks._

_A horn sounded off in the distance._

"_It's my sister!" Kori said excitedly as she raced to the edge of the bank. She tugged on her shoes and tried to ring out some of the water from her dress._

"_Isn't your sister in Azarath for the war?" Victor asked. His brow was arched and he mimicked Kori's movements. The rest of the kids disbursed. _

"_She said she'd be back for my birthday. She wrote to me and told me she got me a wonderful present," Kori was so excited that she stumbled over her legs as she started to dash forward. The war horn sounded again. Victor jogged up to keep in pace with her._

_They could see the castle and the road and both knew that if they didn't beat Kori's sister home there was the potential of being in trouble._

"_Hurry, Victor!" Kori laughed and grabbed his hand as she took off down the hill. _

_They made it just in the nick of time as her sister presented herself to the court. _

"_I bring with me lovely presents," the girl said with a wicked smile in place. She gave Kori a disproving look but pulled her out to the middle of the court anyways._

"_For my dear sweet sister. I found you a maid. Maybe now you can clean up better."_

_The court laughed at her sister's joke but Kori frowned. A maid? That was her wonderful exotic present?_

_Her sister pushed something forward. She thought it was something. The creature was too pitiful to be human. It had large droopy eyes and dirt covered the majority of its facial features. The hair was cropped short in a sloppy way and she couldn't tell if it was male or female._

"_You poor thing," she whispered and placed a hand on her cheek. Even at the tender age of 8 she knew this was wrong that her sister had been cruel to this poor creature. The creature smelled of lavender, a flower, this was a girl._

"_Do you accept your gift?"_

_Kori hesitated. Accepting her gift would mean this girl would be discarded in a few years. Tossed aside as soon as she hit puberty. If she refused then this girl would become someone else's and who knew what kind of treatment they would give her. _

"_As a Tameraean I cannot let my sister be sold to slavery."_

_Victor's voice was colder than she had ever heard in her life. His eyes were burning threating. He would be in just as much trouble as this poor girl. Kori felt tears well up in her eyes. _

"_Oh, dear friend. Victor has told me endless stories about you. He has been so worried about your return and how you chased after your parents to Azarath because of the war. You poor girl. I hope my sister didn't treat you harshly," She heard a few disbelieving gasps from the crowd and tried to think of something to make this more believable. She had to act fast and on whim for this to work, she let a few tears slip from her eyes and pulled the girl to her chest. The girl shivered and croaked out one word in her ear. "Raven."_

"_And what is this girl's name?" asked her sister leering down at her. The crowded mumbled in agreement. _

"_Oh, Raven!"_

_It had done the trick. Everyone believed her now. She smiled and took the chains off the poor girl and handed her over to Victor, who hugged her a bit harshly to his chest. With all the dirt caked on the girl they looked about the same skin tone so no one questioned them. That would all change once Raven had been given a proper bath, but there was nothing anyone could do about it then._

"Kori," Richard's soft voice broke her from her thoughts and she jumped slightly. She felt a small pang in her chest at all the times he had said her name that way and her heart had skipped a beat. How blind she had been back then. How utterly naïve. Her old feelings for Richard were absolutely nothing compared to what she felt for Victor. She wasn't even sure how she had managed to overlook her love for him and felt so foolish. She shouldn't have realized it only after she thought her heart had been broken. It could never be broken with Victor around.

She resisted the urge to flinch as he sat down beside her and placed his warm hand on top of her cool one.

"Do you miss Raven?" he asked.

She was tempted, so very tempted, to say no. Then memories came flooding back to her. Memories of Raven's unyielding loyalty even after everything Kori's country had put her through. Raven who was strong and put everyone before herself. Raven who was dark and misunderstood. Raven who loved her even when she told her about her feelings for Victor. Raven who accepted her no matter what and stood by her.

She felt a sob escape her lips and just nodded not trusting her voice.

"Did she ever… talk to you… about me?"

Kori felt herself eyeing him wearily before she let out a long sigh.

"She never wanted to. She said that since you had hurt me she would never forgive you… I often encouraged her to try the dating part with you," she added quietly when she saw the hurt look flash in Richard's eyes. She could never find it in herself to be hurtful.

"That was all she said?" he asked his eyes hopeful.

Had Raven not told her time and time again that she wanted nothing to do with Richard in a relationship Kori might have told him that she noticed the way he got under her demeanor. However, Raven had told her several times that she thought Richard was a good for nothing jack ass, whom only got amusement from using girls like some type of psychopath. That wasn't Kori's opinion and she knew that wasn't really Raven's opinion but she knew Raven didn't want anything more than a friendship with Richard.

Kori smiled sweetly and nodded her head.

"Yes, that was all she said."

Richard sighed and nodded. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes and his hair seemed to lie flattened along his head.

"I am sorry," he mumbled as he stood up to leave.

"What for?" she asked feeling confused.

"I am sorry I hurt you in any way," and with that being said he was gone from the room like a shadow dispersing from light.

Victor had been breaking out in a light sweat and Kori stood up to dab a wet cloth on his forehead.

()()()()()()()()

The question of what was about to happen next. It hung in the air. Everyone was tense, from the silverware to the fish in the bowl. Words were hardly spoken as Raven and Jason met in the library and poured over books.

"I can't take this much longer," Roy grumbled and turned to bump into Gizmo. The action used to entice a fight and he was severely disappointed with Gizmo made a shrug like gesture and just sighed.

"Gizmo won't fight, my strings aren't tuned, Karen refuses to talk to me, and we might die in a little less than two months."

"Oh shut up. You are such a cry baby," Jinx said as she slid unto the counter to join the rest of the 'gang'.

"That's my line," Gizmo piped up and made room for the towel.

"Like anyone cares," Garth gurgled as he attempted to place his lips outside of his water bowl to talk.

"Excuse me. Karen not talking to me is a very big deal and everyone should care," Roy failed to sound menacing and instead turned out comical. The group shared a laugh at his expense and he sulked.

"There has to be a way. They are so close to breaking the spell. Karen said she grew back her arms one night but they vanished shortly after," Garth offered careful to look away from Roy when the Harp turned in his direction.

"Why is Red X the only one who has a longer effect?" Gizmo asked.

"Maybe because his body is actually alive?" guessed Jinx.

"That would make a bit of sense," Roy agreed.

"There has to be a way to make him see he loves her. If he can do that maybe then our part of the curse will break," Jinx said excitedly.

"But she has to love him back…" Gizmo said.

"Details, details. It doesn't matter. If we can get one to admit it then the other one will surely follow."

"It's not about admitting it though. It's about love," Roy growled. "The reason the curse is slowly lifting is because they are slowly building love. It's not like love is some instantaneous thing. Whether they realize it or not doesn't matter. Someone is falling in love with someone or maybe they are falling in love with each other."

Dead silence met him and Roy felt slightly uncomfortable.

"You're an idiot," growled Gizmo.

"Yeah who would ever believe that garbage," hackled Jinx.

()()()()()()()()()

"Bless you," Jason smirked as Raven sneezed yet again.

"I… achoo… don't get what is up with all the…. Aaaachoo… sneezing," she said grabbing a tissue and shoving it closer to her nose.

"Maybe your boyfriend is talking about you," Jason teased and pushed the box closer to her.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Raven said exasperated. "It might be my brother though…" She trailed off worriedly.

Jason felt a pang in his chest as she stared off into space undoubtedly thinking of her brother. It was his fault she was missing him. It was his entire fault. If he could find some way to fix it… he shook his head and sadly turned away. He would be dead within a few months. She could go back to her brother then. Besides half of him couldn't help but feel relieved that she didn't have a boyfriend to go back to. That sort of feeling needed to be squandered away and fast. Raven deserved every right to happiness after he was gone.

"ACHOO!"

"Bless you," he smirked. He mocked her, placing the back of his hand to her forehead.

"I'm not sick," she stiffed. "It's all this stuffy air. Let's go outside," she offered.

Yes going outside, because that would keep him from thinking about her… not really.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hi everyone poll is closed :). I hope you all voted. Sorry for the delay in posting this... I have actually had this written for a while... no excuse for not posting it... Sorry! I would like to thank my reviewers. Sorry if I haven't gotten back to you guys via PM. I've been busy with class and I have found that I am on this site less because of it.

**may yuki - **I have watched Fairy Tail up to Erza's arc. Amazing I agree. She is a bad ass. Although I think I have a softer soft for Natsu for taking away that victory for her. :p. Thank you for the review. I was up late for reason's beyond me.

**jabigaeltan - **I would have elaborated on the spar scene had I not been sick. I was actually thinking about going back to fix that but now when I look at it I like it the way it is. It makes it shorter and you miss a moment but it leaves it to the imagination ;). I might use that moment in a flash back in a later chapter so you'll find out eventually.

**half-demon24 -** :) thanks! I know you want Robin to back off, but well it's Robin and he's not like that in my opinion. Plus he hasn't seen Raven in a while and he's freaking out because she just disappeared on him. We'll see what happens in later chapters... ;)

**TheMaskedShuppeteer - **HA! I loved that review. Never uninteresting to me as long as it is a review :D.

To everyone else! Review. I would love to hear from you. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I am thinking I might include these little thanks at the end of the chapter just to cut back on P'M's. Laziness on my part but it is a system that might work a little better for me. That way I remember who I have addressed and whatnot. Plus my time on here is rather limited now... Anyways. Click that button below this rant. It's in blue letter's and it says Review! GO GO!


	12. Nightmare

**A/N: **A few quick responses to my reviews from last time. Feel free to skip this part and read the story if you don't see your name bolded or even if you don't feel like reading it. I know I personally can't stand seeing all this talk before the story starts... and here I am doing it... what a jerk I am lol.

**may yuki **– Uh Victor was just interjecting his rights as a citizen and he was claiming Raven as his sister. Not sure how else to phrase that. I have those late nights too hahaha. I am watching Fairy Tail. I have a hard time reading things in the manga form lately… On hulu yes it is up to Erza's arc but I watch subtitles. I have other means of finding things ;)

**jabigaeltan **- I am glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Yes it was blackfire, I couldn't find her English name and I didn't want to guess again (since my last guess failed hahaha). I hope this chapter had a little more action for you.

**Lust for Life** - Will do!

**Glitter Rose – **Yeah my last few chapters have been kind of slow… It'll pick back up soon. I have some plot bunnies just exploding out (but I'm hiding them within the slow chapters so it builds up). I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)

**half-demon24 – **Glad you enjoyed the flashback. I always get nervous when writing those. I'm never sure if I include enough detail.

**Remy45- **Glad to hear you liked Kori's point of view. I want to start experimenting and showing almost everyone's point of view.

**TheMaskedShuppeteer- **Ah my dear friend I try to play everything out and I agree I never liked her. I couldn't help but include it, we all know how Richard can be when he is obsessing over something hahahaha that and he has been questioning everyone it seems. Yeah I loved that line too.

* * *

><p><strong>Acceptance<strong>

**Chapter Twelve: Nightmare**

"_Don't take another step closer," she said. She had a sword gripped tightly in her hands. The cool blade absorbed the heat in her hands making her feel weak. Her blade glittered threating in the light, promising a sweet ending for either the enemy or herself. Death was unforgiving no matter what end you were at. She could take a life with this sword and be just as cursed if she survived. _

_The beast before her was a shapeless black figure. Its eyes burned red and demonic in the torch light. They were in a stone cavern of some type, she didn't bother taking in her surroundings. Taking the time to do that could be the fatal mistake in this situation. _

_The beast before her snarled as it reared back from her blade. Its teeth gnashed together as it back peddled out of her reach. Its eyes blazed in the light seeming to burn with its own fire. Fire that would consume her. It seared against her skin causing her to drop her blade. Her body was frozen as she stared at the beast. Both eyed each other wearily unsure of the others intent._

_The beast reared up, towering above her, and took another daunting step forward._

Raven sat up panting. _Just a dream,_ she told herself as she wiped the cold sweat off her brow. _Just a disturbing dream._

Her throat was dry as she tried to swallow. The silk sheets felt stifling hot as she kicked them off. For once she was glad that she hadn't asked Jason to spend the night with her. She rolled over, pressing her forehead against the cool pillow where Jason normally rested. She felt herself quake and pressed her face further into the pillow. His scent rested there, taunting her.

Maybe the cause of her strange dream was because of his absence. She immediately pushed that thought away. If anything he had been the beast himself. Only… the beast in her dreams was unfamiliar, and deep within herself she knew it wasn't him.

The grey dawn broke out along the horizon and stole into her room from the cracks in her curtains.

"Useless," she grumbled as she kicked her legs over the edge of the bed. Karen was drooped in the corner, signaling that she was still dozing, or at least pretending to sleep. Raven stretched, relaxing as she felt a few joints pop. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she stood up leaving the warmth of her bed for the day.

It would be useless to lie down and pretend she was resting at this point. It would be stupid and a waste of time. She felt her legs buckle as she stumbled forward trying to remain quiet as she passed Karen. Even if the dresser wouldn't do anything she still felt better if she didn't tell the woman everything she was up to. It felt a little unnerving to sit there and have conversations with her, especially on nights when Jason stayed. Things were infinitely more awkward between them now that he was there at night.

She slid out the door soundless and let herself follow the usual routine to the kitchen. The castle was eerily quiet but the kitchen was always buzzing with noise and made the place a little livelier. Raven always felt more at ease around the bustle of moving objects and joking bandits. The grey morning had yet to break over this part of the castle and it was still coated in darkness. She took a deep breath relishing in the cool air and the feel of the smooth stone against her feet as she slipped into the kitchen. No one was awake.

She was about to wake someone to ask for breakfast but immediately stopped herself. She had gotten used to be babied lately; just because they did things for her did not mean they were required to by any means. She scolded herself a moment longer before silently digging through the pantry and finding a box of oatmeal and some tea leaves. She smiled as she clicked on the stove and simmered some milk while at the same time placing a kettle full of water on the stove for her tea.

It felt like it had been years since she had been up this early but her body thankfully was waking quickly and complying with her demands for silence and smoothness in her operation feed-herself-before-someone-woke. She grabbed the kettle before it began whistling and poured the steaming liquid into a mug she had commandeered as her favorite. She pulled out a fabric pouch and poured her leaves into it before dipping it into the liquid and taking a long sip of the soothing mixture.

"You're up early."

She nearly spat out her drink as she glared at the corner where the offending voice had come from. Her eyes glanced over at him as he sat on top of one of the counters. He had taken to just wearing pants, claiming that shirts were too stifling for him, but Raven thought it was because he was losing more and more hair and didn't like having to clean off all the fur on his shirt. He had his arms crossed over his chest in a typical _Jason_ way. There really was no other way to describe it. His facial features had become much more human, and besides the unusual amount of hair (which could pass for a beard now) the only other abnormal thing was that his ears rested a little too high on his head and were slightly pointed. He sent her his charming smile before she rolled her eyes.

"I am," she said coolly and took another sip of her tea trying to calm herself. She wasn't about to ask him why he was up either, that felt like it would be giving in to some type of twisted satisfaction he had talking to her.

"And moody this morning I see."

She repressed her growl and took a large bite of her oatmeal. Instantly she regretted it feeling the burning goo scorch the roof of her mouth and causing her eyes to water.

"Tears of joy at seeing me?" he asked as he hopped off his resting place and walked to the icebox in the corner. She didn't bother answering but just glared at the floor hopelessly huffing air in and out of her mouth trying to sooth the burn. Suddenly a pair of furry feet was in her field of vision.

"Here," he said offering her an ice chunk.

Wordlessly she took the cool object and popped it into her mouth. She nodded her thanks as she turned back to her breakfast and sighed. She wouldn't really be able to eat it now, getting burned just sort of made her appetite disappear. She pushed the bowl towards him and cocked an eyebrow; it was her way of offering the food to him.

"My, aren't you wordy this morning," he said taking the bowl and taking a large bite himself. He didn't seem at all affected by the scorching temperature and just smiled at her. "Thanks," he said as he devoured the rest of the bowl's contents and then left the room.

The ruminants of her dream left her restless even hours after the sun raised high into the sky. She paced around the castle nervously. Today just felt off. Jason had been acting weird, almost avoiding her. He normally would have stuck to her like glue after he had found her for the day but today he took off after their little encounter by the kitchen. Hours later she had found him amongst the garden outside and he excused himself back to the castle, an hour or so after that he was in the library and made a hurried exit once she entered. She didn't know why exactly this bothered her. Out of all the things in this castle he wasn't the only one she could have company with, so she didn't know why she felt an unfamiliar pang in her chest every time he excused himself. She blamed it on her dream. Her dream had left her wanting to find comfort and she was not getting it in the correct way.

"Why are you avoiding me?" she hissed her patience wearing thin when she found him in the dining hall a little after lunch as he stood up to excuse himself.

"Why's that matter to you?" he asked raising his own eye brows as she stormed up closer to him.

"It just does," she growled feeling her nerves flex out of her usual cool control. She tried to wind back her emotions but they were spiraling beyond her at the moment, and his cool blue eyes peering down at her did nothing to calm them.

"Been missing my company Doll?" he asked grinning and sitting back into his chair. He leaned back and eyed her in a way she wasn't used to him looking at her. If she had been in a different type of mood she would have written it off to the faulty lighting in this room, but she knew what she saw. It was lust, and for some strange reason that look made her shiver.

The way he cockily leaned back in his chair was enough to grind on her nerves as she took another step forward.

"I just need to let out some emotion," she whispered.

Acting on whim she straddled his lap and wound her hand behind his neck. Rule number one in fighting, it was always best to have the element of surprise. Her intentions had been to take advantage of the lust she had seen flicker through his eyes and work him into a spar match or even have him tip back in his chair and hit his pretty little head.

She wasn't ready for how easily he wrapped his own hands around her hips or how he pushed his head into her neck. His breath brushed against her skin and sent a rush of electricity dash throughout her body.

"I can help with that," he whispered huskily.

Rule number two in fighting, when deploying an attack it is best to know the enemy was at a disadvantage before attempting a rash assault that could lead to causalities.

Raven felt herself yelp and push out of his lap quickly. Using her legs she pushed his chair back, causing a loud clash against the hard floor. Jason managed to get his balance and stand up just as the wood splinted around him. He smirked at her.

"You are always full of surprises, Bird."

"I told you to call me by my name," she snarled and lunged for his throat.

He laughed and easily dodged her hands and spun so that his own hands caught her around the waist and her back was flush against his chest.

"You seem really distracted today babe," he breathed into her ear. He caught her hands as she flung them up haphazardly to punch him. He moved his legs to make it impossible for her to step into his instep. She felt him grin into her ear. "Old trick, Raven. You sure you are feeling well? Your fight is completely off."

She ripped herself from his grip and whirled around to face him. Even though it wasn't much of a fight she found herself heaving.

"Raven?"

Her vision blurred as she took another step forward. Her head was spinning as she felt herself sink to the ground.

"Raven?"

A pair of warm furry hands wrapped around her waist and her last thought before she lost consciousness was that at least she was safe.

()()()()()()()

"She had been acting weird last night," Karen confirmed as he pulled the comforter around Raven. He sighed and let his head fall against the wooden post.

"She didn't eat a lot last night, and she only drank tea this morning. I bet her blood sugar was low," he said. His forehead felt like lines were permanently being etched into his skin from the stress of seeing Raven so broken yet again.

"How come it feels like you are always placing her in bed and nursing her back to health?" Karen asked.

He felt himself shrug. It was probably because this was the third time in the span of three weeks he had done this. At least this time it wasn't because of an injury he had inflicted. That fact made him feel slightly better.

"Would you talk to Roy and see if he can get some food sent up?"

There was a stiff pause before Karen grumbled something under her breath. Something about being treated like a hand maid and not getting paid enough for it.

"You aren't paid at all," he reminded her as she sulked her way out the door. A piece of cloth whipped out and peaked at him before it rolled back inside a cabinet, he was reminded fiercely of a child sticking their tongue out and chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?"

He felt instantly more alert as he peered down at Raven. He brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead before smiling at her.

"Karen trying to stick her tongue out at me," he said easily and chuckled again. He was a little surprised when Raven's light laughter joined his own. It always felt weird to hear Raven laugh, it was always a pleasant surprise he was never ready for.

"Will you eat when Karen brings back some food?" he asked. He knew she could be quiet stubborn and wondered if this was her way to start some type of small rebellion again. They had been getting along so well lately too! She nodded and pursed her lips looking away from him as a blush filled her face.

He wanted to question her about that blush but thought better of it. It probably had to do with earlier in the dining hall and at the moment he really didn't want to think about that. He had enjoyed a little bit too much of that encounter and he didn't want to have to explain his actions to her. It should be obvious that he was attracted to her, and that blush told him she was embarrassed around him at the moment so she felt _something._ It might not be positive but it was _something._ That aside she had just fainted and he wanted to focus on making sure she was one hundred percent better before something touchy was brought up.

"I had a bad dream last night," she whispered after a dull silence filled the room.

He found himself sitting on the edge of her bed and leaning closer to her. It was his silent way to beckon her to continue.

"I've felt weird all day and I just can't figure out what it means…" she trailed off as she slowly sat up. She was quaking slightly. His hand made its way to start rubbing her back absentmindedly.

"Maybe it's because I wasn't here last night," he offered grinning at her. She chuckled.

Her arms were around his neck and she pulled him to a full force hug. Her head rested against his throat as he tried to swallow his surprise at the sudden display of affection. He timidly patted her back as his other hand encircled her waist. He found a sigh of content escape him as he rested his check against her soft hair. It wouldn't be bad to die like this.

()()()()()()()()

"Harp," Karen called icily from on top of the stairs. The harp came dashing almost instantly into view.

"X wants some food made for Raven," she said curtly and turned to make her way back to the room.

"Karen…" she paused and waited for him to continue with his pleading.

"Out with it Harper," she snapped when the silence was the only thing that greeted her.

"Will you ever forgive me?" he asked quietly his voice sounding like spun velvet and she wished now more than ever she was human so she could hear his voice with her own ears. Actually hear his voice with her own body. Had she had her body, her back would have stiffened and she would have sniffed and huffed out a rude response. Now though, now she was forced to face the fact that she might never get another chance to be human and it was probably best to get as much happiness out of this situation as possible.

"Will you ever forgive yourself?" she asked and turned around.

"I already have," Roy responded cheekily. Had he been human she would have seen a cocky smile in place. Gods, she needed to stop doing that.

"Then there's your answer," she said smoothly. Despite the fact that she was now a dresser she could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'll go get the food and be right back. I can't wait to talk to you!" the harp said dashing away and whipping around the corner with lightning speed. _No wonder they had called him Speedy back in the day_, she laughed to herself. She knew she would have never been able to stay mad at him anyways. Besides she couldn't even remember what it was about anymore.

()()()()()()()()

"Kori!" he gasped as he sat up in bed. His body felt a lot weaker than he remembered it being and the left side of his vision was gone. It was unnerving trying to take in the whole room when he could only see half of what was to his right side. He shifted in his bed and tried to get more comfortable, wincing at the stiffness in his back from laying down so long.

"Victor?"

A flush of red hair slammed into his chest and he winced. He patted the girl on the back and laughed to himself. He had missed her dearly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I really enjoyed writing this chapter for some reason… like really enjoyed it. I was sad when I realized I had to stop from rambling and get along with the plot. I have a question for you guys. How many chapters do you think this story is going to wind up being? I want to see who can guess to the closest amount. I mean obviously there is about … 2 more months' worth of material I could work with but my habit of time skipping is pretty notorious… :p. We'll see.


	13. For Raven

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Thirteen: For Raven**

"I've never been free," she told him as they sat on the edge of her bed together. "That's what the dream was about. Me fighting for my freedom," she whispered in a hushed tone. He felt his heart lurch painfully in his chest so the beast had been him. He had taken away her freedom just like the rest of the world had.

"I'm sorry," he offered weakly and hugged her closer to his chest. It was all he could do. He was selfish after all and despite the feelings that were quickly rising he couldn't let her go now. Not when he was almost normal and having his birthday so close and around the corner.

"Don't be sorry. It has been my fate," she said into his chest. He tried not to let the fact that her warm breath was blowing against his skin and how it made him uncomfortably hot. He shifted her in his lap slightly trying to hide what that did to him. His fading hairier appearance made him all the more susceptible to her touches but this was really the first time she consciously put herself this close to him. It was almost like she trusted him. It made him feel even worse that he couldn't grant her freedom.

"Were you free in Azarath?" he asked curious.

She pulled her head back to give him a look that said it all.

"I've never been free," she said again and let her head fall back into the crook of his neck.

This was too much, he couldn't take this anymore. He buried his head into her neck and took a deep breath. His hands danced across her body unashamedly as he slowly lowered his lips along her hot flesh.

Raven instantly tensed in his grasp. She didn't pull back though. He didn't move either just let his lips rest on her skin and waited. Slowly her hands wrapped into his hair and pulled him to face her. There was a large blush on her face, a mixture between fury and confusion rested in her eyes, and her lips were slightly parted in question. He moved slowly giving her plenty of time to escape him as he hovered his lips above hers.

His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he waited for her rejection, he waited to hear he outraged voice denying him. He waited but it never came. He let his lips fall on hers.

Her own lips were the softest thing he had ever touched. Her warmth seemed to spread from her lips and poured into his body. He timidly pushed his lips against hers with a little more force deepening the meaning. His hands hungrily dashed under her tunic tracing circles on her flat stomach and he found himself leaning over her so that her back fell against the bed. Raven began to respond. Her breath hitched and her lips moved with vigor against his own as if she was hungry for this.

It all clicked then. Perfectly he knew what he should do and he wasn't sure if he could do it. His heart shuttered in his chest as he pulled away.

"Sorry," he whispered, his arms were shaking as he held himself above her. He pushed himself roughly off and sat on the edge of her bed. Raven didn't say anything as she sat up and let her shoulder brush against his. He shot a glance out of her in the corner of his ear and noticed she seemed dazed.

"Raven," he said quietly hoping to catch her attention. She looked up at him. Her violet eyes were simmering with emotions.

"Raven, I … you can go home Raven," he whispered.

"Why?"

"I know how to break the curse," he said easily. "I don't need you here anymore," he added when he saw confusion in her eyes.

"So it's just like all the other Beasts?" she asked.

He knew he shouldn't be surprised at how quickly she had pieced it all together. Love was always the answer in all the stories to breaking the curse. He found himself slowly nodding and letting out a shaking breath. This was just like admitting he felt something for her. He had to push her away though.

He had to. What life would he live if she broke this curse? He couldn't exactly return to a normal life after a life of thievery and if someone recognized him he would just be thrown in jail and forced to rot there. That was hardly a life at all. He wanted to push her away so he could just end this. He couldn't fall in love with her or he would have to change. He had to look out for himself. Only that was how the old him thought, he really didn't think of that at all. His thoughts were swirling around her and how he couldn't be the cause of another injustice to her life.

Raven sighed, bringing his attention back to her. Her hand reached up and her fingers tenderly touched her lips.

"You already love me," she said quietly. He winced. She was right about that. Somewhere along the way he had fallen in love with her and he had fallen fast. Pushing her away really meant that he was trying to save her from the trouble she would have to deal with if he became human again. He already had almost all his features back. His height was just slightly taller and he had a little more hair than normal.

"You have a life outside of this castle Raven. And it's unfair for me to keep you caged here…" he found himself trying to explain his thoughts to her but hesitated.

"So you'll just hand me back over to the Kingdom to resume my 'duties'?" she hissed. "That's just stuffing me back into another cage. Yes I love my friends, yes I miss my brother, but that doesn't mean that lifestyle is the one I chose. It doesn't matter where I am. I'm not free," she snapped and stood up to face him. Her face was twisted and her face had never lost its flush. He could see the wheels spinning rapidly in her head.

"I never said to return to them," he said quietly. He was surprised to see tears forming in Raven's eyes.

"I want to return to them," she answered stiffly. "I just want to choose myself," she said. Her body quaked as she studied him long and hard. "I don't love you."

He winced and nodded his head dully. The truth he had known all along and the fate the Fairy had bestowed upon him. No one could ever love him.

"Choose for yourself then. You can stay or leave. I won't make you stay here any longer," he said and stood up. He couldn't look at her anymore. Her eyes were conveying too much truth and he hated being rejected. He was at least thankful she had accepted his kisses even if he had technically stolen it. He would never be able to give up stealing. He would always have that memory of her.

"It's up to you little bird," he said fondly as he strode towards the door. He heard Raven's intake of breath at the nickname but she didn't protest. He wished she would grab him and plead in her quiet way asking him not to leave.

He wished he had been stronger to let her go before things ever got this far. He wished he didn't love her. If he hadn't fallen for her he wouldn't be doing this for her, but it was inventible. His twisted view had led them on a bit too long. Of course one couldn't find love in a captive situation. It just wasn't how Raven was. Raven was strong and reckless and rarely pieced together a good plan the first time around. Raven always learned from her mistakes though. She would have either found a way to break the curse or kill him sooner or later. He was actually kind of thankful all of her assassination attempts had been when she was low on food, low on blood, or not at her physical best in some way. Those things had caused her thoughts to be more blurred. How could she have ever fallen for him like that? That kiss? It meant nothing to her but loosing another piece of her freedom.

He closed the door behind him and leaned against it as he exited. He couldn't be sure with the buzz inside his head but he thought he heard something like dry sobs in the room. Only it wasn't Raven's cry, it was Karen's.

()()()()()()()()

"It's just like Garfield said I'm sure," Victor said smoothly. "I wasn't here when it happened."

He eyed Richard with obvious mistrust and tried to suppress the urge to wring his neck. How dare he come to him about his sister like he had a greater claim on her?

"Garfield said a lot of misleading things," Richard said just as smoothly and even with a hint of ice to his tone.

"The kid was under a lot of stress for two weeks. Stress makes people do and say odd things. I'm sure he appreciates Raven's position a lot more now that he has had to step into her shoes," he said offhandedly. He made sure not to let his glare up off of Richard who shifted from the foot of his bed to his side.

"Raven is your 'sister'," he said as he sat down in the armchair that was normally occupied by Kori. "She is your sister so I'll let you decide what we should do about this situation. She is obviously missing and you know something about it even though you were 'attacked by bandits'."

The disbelief was easy to hear in Richard's voice. He found his resolve slowly starting to break. Richard did just want what was best for Raven. He was scared for her, he wanted to rush out and save her, but it was Raven. Raven could handle anything. She wouldn't have taken his position if she had thought she couldn't handle it, and not once he see an ounce of fear in her eyes when she accepted that fate. She had a plan, she would be coming back to them soon.

"Raven is the type of girl that won't ever forgive you if you interrupt her," Victor said slowly studying his facial expressions. Richard's remained hard and his own eyes were scouring Victor's face.

"She forgave me for helping her with pervious 'problem'," he said quickly.

"You just don't understand her like I do. Trust me. She only forgave you because you didn't know about the problem and therefore you were ignorant to what it really meant to her. Didn't she push you away the second you started to dig around and found out too much?"

Silence met his question.

"Raven can handle her _mother._ I'll give her another week and if she doesn't come home… then I'll go back and look for her myself."

"You're missing a leg," Richard said easily. They had to amputate his leg to keep the infection from spreading on a festering wound he had received from the 'bandits'.

"I can invent a better one for myself," he said stiffly.

Richard stood up and sighed.

"Raven is the strongest person I know… she can handle this situation," Victor said quietly as Richard opened the door to exit his room.

"Just because she can handle it doesn't mean she has to face it alone," Richard whispered and turned around to look at him.

Brother and former fling eyed each other apprehensively. They both knew the other would do anything for Raven. They just wondered who was right in doing what was best for her.

()()()()()()()

"X," Roy said as he pushed open the door to study half man before him more fully.

"I thought I told no one to ever enter my wing," Jason hissed but his eyes remained glued to a mirror he had resting in his lap. The mirror of the Fairy.

"She's leaving. Karen thought you would like to see her off," the harp said easily as if the growl that escaped Jason didn't affect him in the slightest.

Jason's icy blue eyes shot up from the mirror to look at him.

"I know," he hissed before returning his gaze back to the mirror.

"Can I speak frankly?" Harper said hopping into the room fully. Jason found his eyes rolling up to the ceiling.

"When don't you speak frankly?"

"Point taken," the harp said but advanced until he stood in front of him. "Karen told me about what was said," he started and paused waiting for a reaction.

"I thought Karen was mad at you," Jason said.

"We uh… made up… so to speak. That's beside the point, she told me that and that Raven kissed you back," he continued and then paused again.

"Your point being?"

"You can't let her go. She's so close to falling for you too. If she doesn't stay then we'll all…"

"I don't think you guys will die with the curse," Jason said confidently.

"That's beside the point. You're losing your chance at happiness. What happened to looking out for number one?"

"I am looking out for number one," he said quietly and then locked his eyes on his friend. "My number one has just changed."

Silence met him for several long moments.

"You can't make a bird fall in love with you when it's stuck in a cage," Jason offered when it became clear that Roy wanted a further answer.

"So what you think that by setting her free she'll come back or something?"

"She won't come back," Jason said confidently. "I just want her to be happy and free."

He would do anything for Raven. He didn't know why he just couldn't bring out the words and say it himself.

"At least go say goodbye to your little bird," he muttered under his breath as he turned and went back out the door.

"Would you say goodbye to Karen?" he asked. There was a long pause by the door. The fight between the harp and the dresser was still recent in everyone's memories it had just happened right before Raven had come to them and their recent make up could hardly count as a steady fix. It was only a matter of time before things blew up between them. Jason knew that, and was testing the water. How far could he go before Roy snapped?

"This isn't about Karen though. It's about Raven," the harp said easily before finally exiting.

Jason felt himself sigh as he slowly pushed his legs up under him and made his way towards the door as well. He might as well do this last thing for Raven and tell her goodbye.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **There has been some confusion about what Karen and Roy have been fighting about. XD. Sorry I have just hinted at it everyone but you will see in later chapters. I haven't explained their fight yet. It happened before Raven showed up there as Jason just mentioned. Now... time to thank my reviewers. I love you guys! Think this story can break 100 reviews? I think so :D

**Glitter Rose - **38... wow you think too highly of me xD. I don't think I can write a story that long. This story is actually starting to push it from my usual. Ah sorry it seemed out of place. I was just trying to show that Victor had finally woken up and I wasn't really thinking of explaining it further. I will keep that in mind for next time. Eh sorry about the transition too. If I take too long of a break from writing I forget where I left off and just start writing. It normally fits under assumed time skip for a few days because I have a habit of doing that. Glad you felt special ;). I hope to hear from you again.

**may yuki - **Those numbers are actually my favorite too. xD. Although I don't really have a number in mind to stop at. I will keep writing until the story finds it ending. I was just curious about everyone's guess. Again sorry about the confusion with Speed/Bee I should have mentioned earlier when I hinted at their fight that it was before Raven showed up at the castle. Ah... I'm sorry about that. I don't think I've heard of that show? Unless you've mentioned it to me some other time.

**sisteroffive16 - **Five seems close to where I think my plot line might run out. Nice guess. You made me blush thanks for the compliment :)

**CrazyAndLoveable- **Hey Emily it's great to see you've made an account. I love all of your reviews and I was always sad when I saw I couldn't respond to them. Glad you are enjoying the story. I hope you follow it to the end.

**half-demon24 - **There aren't a lot of good RavenxRedX stories out there I agree. I'm glad you think mine is one of them. I wish I had a longer plot but I won't drag out a story if I do use up the plot. I wish I could manage 15 more chapters... who knows maybe I'll get struck by an idea and be able to pull this story out. ;)


	14. Loosing

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Fourteen: Loosing**

_**Flash Back- Three Years ago. **_

"Roy?" she whispered. Her lips puckered as she studied the castle that was bustling with activity. They would either get into a lot of trouble or get a good haul in tonight. It wasn't easy being a bounty hunter.

"Yes, babe?" her partner responded. His bright red hair looked dull in the fading light and his body was hunched low to the ground to peer over the bush with her. He was barely a hand's breath away; if she wanted she could wrap her fingers around his. She couldn't though, this was job time, and while on the job she needed to stay serious and focused. She tensed her body as she looked around for the rest of her 'team'. In the fading light in the woods surrounding she couldn't see any of them. That was the point though, they were planning an ambush. She tried to relax but her muscles refused to obey her order. She sat there, coiled like a snake, and waiting for the signal.

"Bee?"

She had forgotten about Roy to be honest. Even with his close presence she had forgotten he was there even if it was barely a second. She gave him a firm smile.

"Sorry, I was just checking to see if you were ready," she said coolly.

He gave her a skeptical look before closing the distance between their hands and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"It's the same as always. In, out, haul criminals to the capital and collect the reward."

"I know but I can't help but feel like something is off," she said quietly. She glanced around again. The sun was starting to disappear completely leaving a reddish hue to taint the sky. Someone should be sounding the signal soon.

"It'll work. It always does," he said smoothly as he pulled out his bow and notched an arrow.

She was about to voice a little more of her worries before she thought better of it. If she was leading this operation she had to be sure of everyone. It wasn't often that the world could corner Red X. She couldn't help but voice one last worry though.

"He's been here for a while."

That truly unnerved her. Maybe that was why she was so uneasy. The man she had been hunting for years now had finally stopped running and had been holed up in this place for _months_. Roy looked like he was about to respond when a low whistle erupted from the castle.

"Shit," he hissed and shot forward.

That was the signal. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then took off after Roy.

They trekked silently through the woods until they reached the breach in the wall they had wanted to slip through. Karen found herself looking over her shoulder and wondering where the hell the rest of the team was. She sent a questioning look to Roy who shrugged and kept going. They might have chickened out and left them on their own, and that had happened before. They crossed the crumbled wall and landed in the court yard simultaneously.

"Ah so we finally meet the famous BeeBee," a cold voice said. In the darkness of the court yard she could barely make out a lone figure standing maybe 20 feet in front of them. She heard Roy growl and struggle to get his bow ready before something heavy landed to their right.

"Ambush," she found herself hissing as she sprung up to fight.

She couldn't really tell you what happened after that. She could have been fighting for half the night, or for less than an hour. All she knew was that she and Roy were fighting flawlessly. That was until _he_ stepped in.

A whirl of pink passed her and cackled at Roy dragging him further and further away from her as he chased after a figure. Jinx, she assumed. That left Karen panting and facing the last opponent on the field.

"Well you certainly live up to your name," he teased.

"Enough of this X, you're finished. We've beaten all of your men," she frowned. Her voice came out in pants as if she was exhausted from the energy she placed into this. She whipped sweat off of her brow and cursed under her breath.

"I highly doubt you just expect me to turn myself over to you willingly, doll face."

The moon began to cast some light on to the yard. She could see the bodies of his unconscious men laying around but the man before her seemed unfazed. His face was hidden behind his famous skull, and he wore a large black cloak that hid the rest of his body from her view.

"You seem put out doll," he said as he positioned himself into a stance. He looked almost eager to fight. She felt the weariness settle into her bones.

"I've been chasing you for so long…" she whispered more to herself than to him. He seemed to catch it though and a low chuckle erupted from him.

"How about this? I'll make you a deal."

"I'm not interested in making deals with thieves," she hissed.

"You don't even know what my offer is yet," he teased as he took a step to the side. It forced Karen to start moving or else he would exploit a weakness in her. She wearily started to mirror him. Her eyes looking for anything to help her, but in the dim light she could still hardly make him out. She needed to get closer, especially if she wanted to capture him.

"I don't need to know your offer to know I will refuse it."

If there was ever a mad man laugh in the world that was as pure as this one Karen wasn't sure what else it could qualify. His laughter vibrated across the ground and seemed to rattle the very earth with the force of it. No other sounds could be made out over the disgusting noise.

"Looks like our two best backups knocked each other out," he teased gesturing to the side.

Karen chanced a quick glance. She felt a frustrated sigh escape her as her sight landed on Roy who was sprawled out with the pink haired 'witch' on top of him. He could be so useless sometimes.

She suppressed a growl when she caught the flushed look on Roy's face and just how closely pressed against the other girl he was. She ignored it. This was a fight and he lost. She couldn't focus on something as trivial as how he wound up, he did take out his enemy as well.

"Ready to take a chance on my deal?" he lunged forward not giving her time to respond.

She flipped out of his reach, careful not to expose her back for longer than necessary as she continued to retreat from his lithe lunges. She managed to grunt out a 'no' before stopping a fierce round house kick he tried to deliver. She parred a punch of his before slowly taking the offensive.

She took an assertive step forward and smoothly dodged another punch he aimed at her. She sent her own kick in a jabbing motion towards his chest, before quickly and fluidly changing direction and aimed for his head. She heard him chuckle as he leapt out of her kicking range.

They both panted and looked across at each other.

"So if I win… you join my crew. If you do, I won't try to escape when you tow me back to the capital," he said.

"How do I know you won't break your word?" she panted, and to her dismay she found her elbows leaning onto her knees to keep herself propped as she gasped for breath. His stupid minions had taken a lot more out of her than she suspected.

"We'll shake on it," he said easily and strode forward across the small space that separated them.

Karen eyed him wearily and pulled herself up to her full height. She found a sneer plastered across her face as he extended his hand out to her.

"I don't do deals with thieves," she hissed crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well that's too bad," he said and lifted his hand to strike her easily upside the head.

_Stupid_, she thought as she found herself slipping into unconsciousness. How stupid of her to let her guard down so easily.

()()()()()()()()

She awoke in the tower; Roy was chained next to her with several lumps and bruises of his own. She could surmise from the dull throb on the side of her skull that she had a nasty lump as well. She sat up slowly, testing the rattling chains that kept her within a three foot area. She sighed.

"Roy?"

He mumbled and shifted in his sleep. He hissed when he rolled over, probably on a wound, and shot up. He blinked a few times before catching sight of her.

"We were set up," he hissed lowly.

She nodded. Their 'partners' for this project were all absent and had been absent from the court yard as well. That and the stupid thieves had been waiting for them. There really was no other way to interrupt that other than they were set up.

The door slowly creaked open and there stood the pink haired girl. She had a sinister smile on her face as she sauntered into the room. She strode up to Karen with determination but her eyes were locked on Roy.

"Remember what I told you?" she said.

His face instantly turned white as he struggled against his chains.

"No," he hissed.

Jinx raised a hand and with a loud snap struck Karen across the cheek. Pain laced across her and caused her mind to fog quickly. This was expected but she didn't know why. She struggled to sit up and look over at Roy who was swearing loudly.

"Roy?" she whispered out. Jinx cackled above her.

"She wants us to join them," he hissed to her. He kept his eyes locked on hers. His eyes showing an array of torture as Jinx continued to strike Karen. She couldn't show weakness but they already knew her weakness, Roy, and she was his. That was Red X's trump card. She struggled not to make any noise as Jinx lashed something sharp across her back. She would try to hold out as long as possible for Roy. Maybe then they would give up.

"It doesn't hurt," she mouthed to him, trying not to wince as she did so. A sharp kick was delivered to her ribs, which cracked sending white hot pain to shoot across her body, and she couldn't help but let out a small moan.

"Okay, okay, stop!" Roy shouted straining against his chains so hard that he was drawing blood. The liquid pooled on his wrists and dripped to the floor.

"Why should I?" the witch cackled striking Karen again, this time along the bruise on the side of her head. She hissed and recoiled from the girl. The pain that was starting to settle into her body was becoming unbearable.

"I'll join!" Roy yelled as she landed another blow on Karen's fallen body.

()()()()()()()

_**A few days before Raven's arrival at the castle.**_

"I know you talked to Jinx the other night," she growled. She hated being trapped as a dresser. She hated that she couldn't convey her emotions like she used to. She couldn't place her hands on her hips or give him a glowering look. She couldn't do anything.

"I did," Roy said easily. The strings on his 'body' vibrated beautifully as he settled in next to her.

"Well?"

"Well what?" he asked.

"What could you possibly have to talk about with that _thing_?" she hissed. Over the past three years she had gotten over Jinx's ways as she simulated herself into the group but she still held a deep mistrust for the _towel_. She guessed being blackmailed into a group sort of made one full of resentment for that person. She would have smiled thinking back on all the memories of being part of Jason's 'team' but she had no lips. Her frustration mounted as Roy refused to answer her.

Roy gave her a typical shrug, in the best way he could with his wooden frame and strummed a few notes harmlessly trying to calm her.

"It's kind of a private matter," he mumbled.

If Karen had eyes she would have been seeing red.

()()()()()()()

_**Present Day**_

The fact that he was just letting her go was unsettling, but not unsurprising. She hadn't really tried to get away during her stay here. Besides her journey out into the woods but she didn't really call that an escape attempt. She was free to leave whenever she wanted… so why did she wait until he said she could go before she decided it was the best choice? What made her stay her?

The answer was simple. She had given her word. She had told him she would help him break the curse, and before that she had told him she would take her brother's place forever. Her word made her a captive just as much as her captor.

But the thing was, was that her resent for him that pure unbridled hatred she had felt merely weeks ago had vanished. And she had kissed him! How could she ever forget how his warm lips had ravished hers, or how she had actually responded? She hadn't even protested and he gave her plenty of time to say no.

Was it because of his more human appearance that she had accepted the kiss or some other reason?

She didn't want to dwell on this. It was because he kissed her that she was leaving now. He had kissed her and then told her to go. Sure she played it off that it was the curse that caused him to act like that but the kiss… the kiss was always the key in the story. It was the kiss that showed true love conquered all evils. After their kiss nothing had changed, he looked exactly the same, slightly hairy and pointed ears but mostly _human_. Even if he did somehow love her it wasn't enough to break the curse, she wasn't enough. The rejection in the most simplistic way was enough to make her want to curl up into a ball under her covers and never come out again. And she felt ridiculous that she was even feeling like that.

"Just a little more time Raven, please," Karen croaked from the corner.

It was odd to have her so distraught. Raven wasn't even sure why she was to begin with. Karen was always the type of gir-erm um… dresser to keep herself pulled together. She did feel a pang of guilt for her friend, she was potentially being extremely selfish and letting down a lot of people but at the same time she couldn't ignore the freedom she was presented. She would be letting down her friends back home if she didn't come home now.

She found her head wagging slowly back and forth in answer to Karen's plea.

"I … just… no," Karen said hopping in front of the door making it impossible for Raven to leave. Raven sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I can't stay here anymore," she whispered mostly to herself but knowing that Karen would hear it.

"I feel that way every day. Do you know how hard it is to not be able to experience your own emotions? To forget what it is like to be human and then have some girl come here and show you exactly what it means again? Do you know what it's like to see your lover become a harp and watch him struggle to keep himself in place while you struggle to keep yourself?"

"I don't know what its like," Raven said calmly, "but I know what it is like to have everything taken away from you and not being able to do anything about it."

Both eyed each other, well, Raven eyed the dresser and she assumed that Karen was mimicking her in her own way. The wood in the dresser sagged against the door as Karen let out a sigh.

"Before you came here I got in a huge fight with Roy about this really small thing. I saw him playing a song for Jinx when he thought I was asleep," Karen paused taking a deep breath. "I assumed that meant he and the towel had something going on but he refused to tell me why he had been trying to cheer Jinx up. Apparently she was really distraught over something and she made him promise not to tell anyone. He still hasn't told me…"

So Karen was a self-conscious dresser who was worried about the harps intentions, so what? Raven couldn't help but lean forward though. It was the first time that any of them had willingly told her something about themselves.

"But I figured it out when Jinx was in here with you and Jason. She's all steamed up because she's in love with him and he knows it but doesn't love her back," she finished the rest of her sentence like it would be some kind of shock. It was in a small way but Raven wasn't really bothered by it. Who would feel threatened by a pink fluffy towel?

"Is this supposed to make me stay?" Raven asked her voice slipping into a familiar bored monotone.

"No… it just feels good to finally tell someone about it," the dresser said. "I am going to miss having a roommate," the dresser wailed and lunged forward. Clothes shot out and wrapped Raven up into a tight hug. She felt warm as the dresser let out what could pass for dry sobs.

"Dammit Karen," she hissed feeling her own tears starting to swim up to her eyes. She barely knew this girl and here she was feeling sentimental about leaving. Maybe it was because in some small way Karen reminded her so much of herself.

She slowly pried herself from her friend's grip after a few more minutes of embrace. Karen squeezed her a bit tighter before releasing her and pushing her back towards the bed.

"At least let me pack you some clothes. Can't have you looking like a hobo," she muttered and Raven found a small chuckle escape.

()()()()()()()()()

"So this is it," he said looking down at her. She was wearing a faded blue tunic and a pair of black long pants. Her short purple hair was tucked back behind her ears making her eyes appear even larger than normal. She had a cloak draped over her arm and a back pack full of who-knows-what was strapped to her shoulders.

She nodded and even though she was smiling, it was a smile that didn't quiet reach her eyes.

"I'll be back soon," she said.

He nearly choked.

"What?"

"With armed forces to arrest you," she teased. This time the smile did reach her eyes in an almost sinister way. He found himself chuckling despite how sad he felt. She wouldn't really come back and if she did it would be with an army to arrest him.

"I'll look forward to it," he said bending down to place a chaste kiss on her cheek.

She turned a brilliant shade of red before coughing and then turning around to bid everyone else goodbye. After the short and seemingly painless goodbye session was done he walked her to the barn, helped her saddle up the horse, and then escorted her off the grounds.

She waved lazily over her shoulder as she rounded the corner. Her eyes never once turned to look back at him. _She was probably waiting to get out of eyesight before she pushes her horse into a gallop back home_, he thought drily as he slowly let the gate squeal closed.

And just like that Raven Roth, the girl from Azarath, the prisoner of the world, the love of his life, was gone. He found himself on the earth clutching the grass for support. It felt like that if he let go he would fall off the face of the earth and cease to exist.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **:D (#) Cookies for ALL! Thank you guys for the reviews! I can't get over it! So awesome.

**may yuki -** ah I see it now. Ignore my blond moment. And who knows I can't decide yet *Grins evilly*

**Lust for Life - **Of course. I would never stop a story half way through. Although I do have a few stories that are on vaction right now I will eventually finish them. This story I am so into finishing it will be done before I can go back to my others. Hahahah

**Glitter Rose** - Jason is a lost puppy. :p I got dibs first on adoption though. You know the whole foster parent thing hahahaha.

**half-demon24** - I hope so too! And thank you *blushes*

**sisteroffive16** - Eh I'm only fast at updating because I get so focused on writing I wind up writing soooo much hahaha. Sometimes though my updates become less frequent. I do have a story that has been on a four or five month break right now? I should get back to that one... I just wanna finish this first.

**crazynerd** - It isn't a problem at all. You can reveiw whenever you feel like it (although I do love getting them :p).

**joxxmarie** - I have put a lot more effort into this story to make it flow correctly and I'm glad it has been paying off for you readers to notice. :D. Also I'm thrilled that this is one of your favorites. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

**jabigaeltan** - The part with Raven saying she doesn't love him? Hmmm... I'm not sure if that is denial or not. I'll have to ask Raven and have her get back to you ;)

**CrazyAndLoveable** - HEhehe I'm glad you think so highly of my writing. You know what I find funny (**to everyone reading**) is that I actually like Richard in this story and you all hate him XD. I mean I have written him in a way so that he is disliked but I guess my heart always goes out to the 'bad' guys in the story.

**amethyst-dreams27 - **Thank you! I would have never dreamed that any of my stories would get such responses and I'm always pleased. Yeah I couldn't help but through that in there. I always find myself melting with that number one thing Red X does. Darn him. Oh I would never drag on my story without a plot rest assured. I just had an idea for a small plot line to get thrown in. It actually wrote itself out in this chapter so overall I don't think I will be going over 20. If I do it's because the plot line I have is longer than I expected. :)


	15. Homecoming

**Acceptance **

**Chapter Fifteen: Homecoming**

_I shouldn't be doing this, _she thought as she shifted in her seat. The horse snorted almost as if he heard her thoughts and was agreeing with her. She sighed and leaned forward to press her cheek against the warm animal's neck. She let the rocking motion of the horse beneath her lull her into peace as they continued to follow the well-worn track of the small road.

Birds whistled and fluttered from tree to tree. The sun pierced through the bare branches of the trees and caused the snow on the ground to glare up at her. The chilling cold seemed mild under the sun's burning light. She closed her eyes. She trusted her horse to stay on the trail, and the trail seemed clean enough.

Soon though, the walking of the horse came to a stop and Raven stirred herself awake.

She could still turn back if she wanted. Why would she even want to? She felt a headache starting to come on and pressed her cheek firmly against the horse. She just wanted to leave everything and start over fresh. She didn't want to go home and deal with everyone fussing over her. She didn't want to go back and face Jason. She just wanted to ride off into the sunset by herself and live happily ever after, possibly start a new life and get a new identity.

That was just the easy way out. It wasn't even a way out. It was just giving up and tucking her tail between her legs. Raven Roth did not just give up. She sat up and took a deep breath. First thing was first. She had to go home and assess the damage there.

()()()()()()()()()

He stared down at his stump. It was what used to remain of his leg. He couldn't remember what exactly happened, he just knew that the damage had been enough to be amputated. Wearily he pulled the metal up to his leg. This was going to hurt. He was going to joining the joints, muscles, nerves, and bone in his leg with something he had just created. It was a leg of sorts, only it was slick metal that gleamed in the light.

Everyone sat around waiting with bated breath to see if this was going to work or not. He grabbed a wooden spoon and bit down on the end as he pressed the metal into his leg. With a loud hiss, a snap, and a small squirt of blood he felt the metal in some way become his leg. It wasn't the same for sure, but it would work. The metal fused into his nerves and he bit down on the wood harder trying not to scream out or lose consciousness as he pressed the metal further into his leg. He almost fainted when he felt the bone grind up against the metal but a soft click and a rush of coolness finally confirmed that the leg was fully in place. He glanced around at all the worried eyes and smiled as he spat out the spoon.

He stood up.

There was a collective sigh of relief around him as he took several test steps and managed it without fail.

The front door creaked open and light flooded into the room. There she stood. Raven, the girl that had not left anyone's mind in well over a month. No one moved, no one could do anything. Smiles appeared one by one on everyone's face. Uncensored joy spread across the group, even Terra had a small smile. But no one knew what to say, or how to react. It was Richard who took the first step forward with his arms spread open in a welcoming hug. Raven's eyes narrowed at him before she stepped forward and gave him a light hug as expected for his waiting arms. After that there was an explosion of conversation of asking how her 'mother' was, and how her trip had gone and waiting in line to each get a hug from her in turn. Raven fell into the lie naturally and smiled easily.

"I'll have to go back soon to check up on her," she began. Was it just him or was she avoiding his gaze? Did she hate him? A memory stirred, a cold night, Raven's plea to keep him alive, he had failed her. He felt himself sit down dumbly as she continued mildly chatting with everyone.

It felt like hours before she finally managed to get over to the table and sit next to him. The small hut was in a full swing of a party of sorts.

"Bandits huh?" she asked as she slid into the seat next to him. He still couldn't see out of one of his eyes so he had to turn to face her. She looked smaller than the last time he had seen her. Her skin was paler and her eyes looked tired. She looked stressed.

"How's your mom?" he asked evading her own question with one of his own. His voice felt tight as he looked over her. The shirt she was wearing barely pulled forward enough to the point where he could see the hint of an angry red line on her back. Raven noticed and pulled at her shirt.

"She's… fine," she managed to get out. She looked like she wanted to cry but she blinked rapidly a few times and composed herself. She grabbed her cloak which she had been clutching since she entered and threw it over her shoulders. She pulled the fabric closer to herself and scooted closer to him.

"He's not dead," she whispered in an undertone to him. No one paid them any mind. Everyone else seemed to enjoying the good mood in the house. He could walk again and Raven was back. There was a lot to be happy about. Kori floated over briefly and planted a kiss on Raven's cheek and then one on his own cheek before she went back to a giggling Terra.

"I barely remember Rae," he answered as soon as the princess was out of earshot.

"Well… now that I see you I can't exactly forgive him."

The sentence threw him off. He strained his memory as he studied her face which was pulled back into her famous blank slate. He saw a flicker of sadness and guilt flash threw her eyes before she grabbed a mug of ale and took a large swing. He cocked an eye brow.

"Since when do you drink?" he asked.

"Since when have you been blind in one eye?" she hissed back in response. He shrugged. He didn't see the big deal. He could still see just not as well. He tried to keep her attention off his leg because then without a doubt she would blame herself for that. She had just mentioned someone…

"Who is he?" he asked.

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"You really don't remember?"

He shook his head sadly and grabbed the mug from her hands and took a large sip himself. Her face flushed.

"I don't know how you got into the condition you are in. When I found you, you were close to death. I got him to take me in your place. I thought he would take better medical care of you…" she trailed off biting her lip. The lighting could easily be blamed for the sheen he saw in her eyes. Awkwardly he pulled her into a one armed hug before quickly releasing her. Or at least he would have let her go, he knew Raven wasn't one for physical contact, but her hands wound up around him and held him closer for the briefest of seconds. He thought he heard her let out a small sob before she pulled back and gave him a watery smile.

"Rae… who is he?" he questioned again. He noticed that a pair of ice blue eyes were glued to them in the corner of the room. He felt himself bristling but pushed it aside for now. He wouldn't let Richard ruin his reunion with his sister.

"He's… a… he's … beast," she said weakly. She buried her face in her hands and then laughed loudly she patted his back boisterously and he got the hint to laugh along with her. Too much sadness would catch attention. His laughter was obviously faked but when Raven looked up the tears that had been threating to fall were gone and a small smile stood in its place.

At the word beast something triggered in his brain. Memories came flooding back. Finally all the flashes connected and he understood.

"MY CAR!" he roared standing up from the table. Raven looked puzzled but the loud room barely gave him any notice. Someone else shouted something along the lines of 'Bam baby' presumably Garfield, but he wasn't in the mood to go over and check what that was about. The noise amongst them though was enough to make random outburst not draw attention and for that he was glad.

Victor quickly sat down and grabbed Raven's hand excitedly.

"I remember now. That beast you were talking about scarred the horse, I shot at it, but it left. And then…" his eyes lost focus as he concentrated. "The cart lost balance and fell. I managed to free the horse but I fell down with the car I built. I got caught in the wreckage. Then that beast came back and I was yelling at it and after it freed me I told it to let me die. I said I would rather die than get eaten by the likes of him. Well I think that pissed him off a bit… and then you were there and you were begging to help me… and then he pressed this weird mirror thing to my face and I felt a little better before he knocked me out…"

Raven's eyes were almost popping out of her head. Then a genuine smile lit up across her face as she leapt forward and kissed him square on the cheek. She looked like she was about to stand up and leave before she became solemn again and sat down.

"It's a curse. He's going to die soon," she whispered to him. Her face became pale and she looked like she was about to start crying again. He was just about to ask her more about what had happened during her absence when a hand came down on her shoulder.

"Raven can I have a word?"

A growl escaped his throat despite himself.

"Richard," Raven said nodding to him curtly. "I am talking to my brother."

He gave her a small smile before turning his glare back at the man before him.

"I know… but it's kind of important," the man said seeming to dance on his feet as he held his hand out to her. Raven looked at the hand as if insects were crawling out of it before smoothly turning back to him, smiling apologetically and then getting up and following him outside.

He found his insides crawling but remained sitting. Raven could handle him. He just wished she wouldn't have to.

()()()()()()()()()

He used to be the man that made her heart melt, that made her lean against a door with a thundering heart trying to collect herself from something he had said. Now? Now he was the man that interrupted a serious talk between her bother and herself.

She wasn't sure when she lost feelings for him. She knew some small part of her still yearned for him when she told him they could no longer be friends but she never felt lost from it. Right now she was still feeling lost from being away from Jason. She missed the strange man's easy company and the flow of conversation between the two of them. She missed his laugh and how carefree he was. Her heart clenched uncomfortably and her stomach dropped. She missed him even though she had said goodbye.

"Raven?"

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she realized she had been spacing out as they walked.

"Richard," she said coolly. Her face flushed in embarrassment. She was trying to asses her relationship with Richard not think about how much she missed Jason. She fidgeted as they fell into silence.

Silence had always been her friend. It never made her uncomfortable, but in the past month being in the constant companionship of someone who couldn't shut up to save their life she had somehow lost the sense of awkward silence. Sure she and Jason would fall into comfortable silence occasionally but it was very short lived, that or she was reading and he was trying to give her space so she could read.

This silence was awkward. There was some type of strain that hung in the air between them like a thick fog, and that made Raven want to blurt out something to get a conversation started.

"The weather's nice out," she commented idly. Richard stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face her fully.

"I suppose," he said icily. His eyes surveyed her up and down as if he was trying to solve some puzzle.

She then remembered she had told him they couldn't even be friends and mentally scolded herself for coming out her alone with him. That and she _**never**_ ever started conversations between them. Of course he would be thrown off by that.

"You seem different…" he said quietly. She wanted to snort and ask if it was because of her idly chatting about the weather but restrained herself. She was not with Jason. She couldn't behave like that.

"Different?"

"Not in a bad way," he reassured quickly his face lighting up in a blush. "But you seem happy."

She did not feel happy at all. Was he blind? She was sorely missing… she cut her thoughts off before forcing herself to give him a croaked smile.

"Is it so wrong for a girl to be happy about coming home?"

Richard rolled his eyes at her.

"You forget that you used to tell me everything?"

She hissed. Oh yes, a month ago she stupidly put way too much emotion and time in with this man. It was strange how she felt absolutely nothing now. His banter wasn't even as amusing as… she stopped her thoughts again. She had told him about her freedom. At least she had mentioned it, and that hinted at her unhappiness.

"Well I'm just glad to see Victor and Kori and… everyone," she admitted. It was nice to see everyone under one room, but for some strange reason she found herself missing a dresser, a fish, a harp, and a candle holder. She kept looking around the house expecting something to randomly start moving. Now being outside she didn't have to worry about the trees…

"Am I included in that Rae?" he asked quietly and took a step forward.

It took her mind a second to process his meaning before she politely took a step back and shook her head.

"Not in that way. In the friend way like everyone else," she said easily.

"So do you have a boyfriend at your 'mother's' house now? I was talking to a few of the lower guards. They said that is code among higher guards for a situation. Wouldn't tell me much since I am new but…"

Raven reached across the space and smacked him hard across the face. She felt an unknown fury bubbling inside her veins at her once friend.

"You've been snooping around?" she hissed. "You've been inducted into _my_ guards? You don't even care about this kingdom or Kori," she said lowly. Her lips were pulled back into a sneer. Kori was her sister. Kori was a girl she was sworn to protect, Kori was under her charge and she oversaw all the guards. Her month's absence had cost her a lot more than she would have imagined. How could she have ever forgotten her purpose? He didn't even get time to protest. His mouth hung open like an ape and his eyes glazed over with a fury as he struggled to find the right words to say.

A scream interrupted them. A scream Raven knew very well.

"Kori," her and Richard said together.

"We'll talk about this 'important' matter later," Raven said and with one last pained look at each other they started running back towards the house at full speed.

()()()()()()()()

Kori's normally tan face was pure white as she clutched a letter tightly within her grasp. Her eyes stared blankly at the wall trying to piece together what this letter said. No matter how hard she tried her mind could just not grasp the fact that it was true. Her father dead? Impossible. She had just seen him a few weeks ago and he looked as healthy as a horse.

Sure he was older than the last time she had seen him but he was still fit and able bodied. There had been nothing wrong with him. So how could they suddenly find him dead within his own bed three months before she could legally ascend to the throne without a marriage? It was all too perfect. It had to have been planned. There was treachery in this death and that lead to more disbelief. There was only one man who wanted her father dead this badly for his own personal gain. Slade.

A shiver ripped through her spine as she realized what she would have to do, what she would have to make them all do. They would have to go to the throne and prepare for whatever hardships that may come. Still her body could not stop shaking. She was so scarred. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this. She would have no time but now to mourn for her father but she couldn't find it within herself to believe he was truly gone.

"Kori," Raven's gentle voice came through the door. If there was anyone she wanted to see right now it was Raven. Raven would know what to do and how to handle it. She managed to choke out a response to tell her it was okay to enter. She hadn't even let Victor in this room with her.

She wasn't aware of Raven as she came into her room. She was surprised to find the sudden weight on her bed next to her and feeling her friend's warm hand resting on top of her shoulder.

Raven's slender hand squeezed her shoulder. She was surprised to find tears on her friend's face as well but it was enough to bring them to hers. It was real. If Raven was upset it had to be real. She found a sob escaping her as she launched herself into her friend's waiting arms. She was thankful that for once Raven didn't try to squirm away and just hugged her back.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Poor Starfire... why did I do that to you? I hope you will be okay... I say that and I'm the author... xD. This chapter just came out weird to me for some reason. I couldn't write it any other way because of the plot line but I feel like something is missing... :/. Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed it. Next chapter is in progress which means I should be done with it soon. Now on to my reviewers :D ~

**sisteroffive16** - All I can really do is smile at that review. Thanks for leaving one :)

**Glitter Rose** - You gotta find me first to fight me for him. Right now he may or may not be tied up in my spare room against his will xD…. Oh fine I'll share him…. You can have him on Tuesdays. We'll see him again in later chapters for now he is taking a nice holiday with his heart ache. Poor chap. I try to keep you guys on your toes with my surprises ;). I'm always nervous I might give something away for the next chapter in an Author's note. Hahahaha...

**may yuki** - At least you find that amusing as well. ;). That isn't a bad choice for a song. I think I would play something along those lines possibly Wake Me Up by Evanescence. I am curious to know about the one-shot you mentioned. I want to read it too. It is hard to find a good RedxRae story :)

**OffMyTea** - PLEASE DON'T CRY! I hope this was updated quickly enough so you didn't waste any tears! :)

**crazynerd** - Ah my phone does crap to me like that too. I'm glad you are sensing love triangles. ;). I was trying to hint at them. Yeah I had that in my mind the whole time. I should have explained that much earlier and I feel kinda bad that I left them out for so long. He's pretty awesome as a Harp though. xD.

**CrazyAndLoveable** - That just made me smile a lot. Thanks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**rephiamluvers123 - **That my friend, is a surprise and you'll just have to wait and see. Thank you for the suggestion but I doubt I will use it. My writing has a habbit of not being able to follow requests no matter how hard I try unless I already have it in mind. ;).

**jabigaeltan - **It seems like the world has been having problems with technology lately. Hahahahaa. I love how you messaged me your real review so I wasn't confused. Thank you! Also you mentioned something that sparked an idea for a future chapter.

**tenko 12 - **I'm glad you think this is the best Beauty and the Beast twist you've read. ;). I have been trying.


	16. Fool Me Once

**A/N: **Hey everyone. Not really important but I would say the rating for this is a **Strong T **(for violence) I might even be pushing M material here. Please let me know that I'm either overly paranoid or if I should up the rating please. (The next chapter is even more violent in some ways... so if this is pushing it to you please let me know because I'm sure next time will be too much if that is the case...) Enjoy this installment of …

**Acceptance **

**Chapter Sixteen: Fool Me Once**

"Kori," she whispered placing her hand on her friend's shoulder and giving it an affectionate squeeze. "We need to get going," she said solemnly trying to stir her friend off the old stump she was resting on.

Kori dully nodded her head and stood up. Raven wasn't sure if the young red head had actually heard what she said as the girl walked past with a far off look on her face. Raven sighed and followed her back to where the others were. A group of around thirty or so men milled around aimlessly among the horses and a few hand maids stood by waiting patiently for the princess. She still felt her blood rise when black spiky hair and clear blue eyes met her gaze but she tried her best to ignore him for now.

They would have been at the palace by now but for some reason the lower ranking guards and stable help would stop continuously for no reason whatsoever. Raven's death glares did little to nothing. It seemed like a lot of the people forgot exactly who she was. She was glad that Garfield still seemed to have some pull and so did Victor but they couldn't exactly get everyone moving when Kori agreed to the stops and would try to wander off into the woods to get some space.

She couldn't blame the girl for wanting space. If anyone understood the need for privacy it was Raven and she hated having to interrupt her friend now but the sun was starting to get low and she at least wanted to get a few more miles before they were forced to camp for the night. She tensed when she heard a twig snap and glanced around into the surrounding forest.

After a minute of intense studying she wrote it off as some animal and shook her head at her antics. She was way too tense right now. She was on edge for every little sound she heard, she had even jumped earlier when Victor had come up behind her to ask her a question. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were probably a mile away from the small path she could take to get to a certain someone. It was almost invisible from the road; you really had to look for it. So why should she be nervous about passing by?

Was it because she had teased him that the next time she would see him she would bring an army? A group of thirty give or take a few, hardly counted as an army.

Another branch snapped with in the woods causing a loud crack to rip through the air. Raven found her sword unsheathed and out pointing in the offending direction. She had missed having her sword. She wasn't the best swordsman in the world but she felt a security she rarely ever felt when she held it in her hands. The metal seemed to vibrate in her hands as if it was telling her it was happy she was holding it again. There was a grunt and suddenly a man came dashing out of the woods holding a large blunt club. Raven dashed forward, this fight was so different than the ones she had grown used to. This wasn't a spar when someone would pull back and leave her unharmed, this was a fight. A real fight. It had been a while since she was faced with this type of situation.

She snarled and let her arm extend to knock the club out of the man's raised hands as he tumbled closer to her. She sent her blade hard into his left shoulder and then whipped the blade down across his abdomen.

She didn't want to see what the damage she had done so she stayed facing away from him as she listened to his dying gasps. Her blood roared loudly in her ears, and her heart was pumping so fast she thought it would leap out of her chest.

"We need to get moving," she hissed to the group in a voice loud enough to get everyone's attention. Not that she needed to catch it; everyone was staring at her with shocked expressions. "Now!" she snapped sending everyone into a frenzy of movement to leave immediately. Even though the people surrounding her were quickly packing up it wasn't fast enough. She could hear the distant rumble of horse's that weren't their own in the distance, and a few grunts that were too primal to belong to any of her men.

"Ambush," Victor seethed coming up beside her, stating the obvious.

On his right arm he strapped on a makeshift sword. It couldn't really count as a sword since it seemed ingrained into his arm but it was sharp and she wouldn't want to be next to him when he let it loose upon his enemies.

"How many?" she asked lowly.

"I hear around 50 to 60 horses," Garfield said coming up to stand on her other side. He looked much older than she remembered, but there was still that boyish look there that made her smile.

"Think the three of us can handle them?" she asked.

Both men smiled, their eyes danced in anticipation as they nodded excitedly.

"We thought you'd never ask," the responded together.

()()()()()

"I'm trusting you," Raven growled as she slapped the rump of his horse to get it moving.

"I won't let you down," he reassured as he took her place at the middle of the guard, right beside Kori.

"I wish to stay and fight," Kori said. The girl's green eyes were dancing in anger and fury. A fight was about to break out and she was going to miss it.

"And risk you getting hurt? No," Raven said curtly.

"Friend Rave-"

"Right now I am not your friend Kori. I am the person who has sworn to protect your life at any cost. The king has fallen and you're asking me to let his own daughter into a fight before she has even had a chance to claim the throne. No," Raven hissed.

Kori's eyes immediately sprung into tears as she stomped her foot childishly. Her red hair whipped back and forth as she shook her head in refusal.

"You will return to me Raven. You are not allowed to die here," the girl finally said as she mounted her horse.

Raven's eyes lit up in amusement as her and the princess grasped arms in a sign of comradeship.

"I promise," the violet haired woman said and then promptly spun on her heel to consult her other two friends.

He felt an emptiness inside him as he watched her over his shoulder but tried to clear his mind. She said she would take care of this and be back to them in three days' time. She expected them to make it to the castle. She expected him to lead this group. She expected him to become a leader.

He guessed in some small way that was reassuring. It meant in a very Raven-ish way that she had not necessarily forgiven him but she trusted him enough and knew him well enough to know that he could handle this. He had been there on that night after all. He had seen her fight and she had seen him fight.

"Richard," Kori said curtly her voice breaking him from his thoughts.

"Yes… princess?" it sounded odd and foreign to address the girl he had known so long as Kori as Princess now.

"If they aren't back by sunset I want you to go back to them," she said fiercely.

It was an order. It was an order that went against his oath to protect the princess. It was something he found he didn't mind doing if it meant returning to Raven's side. He nodded dully as the guard began their trek around the trees and along the path.

()()()()()()()()

There was a single piece of paper folded up on his bed and he wondered who would have the nerve to enter his room. He was about to burn it or shred it viciously when the perfectly scrawled writing caught his eye.

_So you never forget _

_- Sunshine_

He briefly wondered who the hell Sunshine could be and curiosity won over as he flipped open the note. Only inside the paper was his drawing of Raven. Raven in all of her perfection as she slept and then another sketch below that of her reading a book. It was Raven. That's all that his mind could grasp was that was Raven. He looked back at her perfect hand writing and smiled. That was a new nickname he hadn't called her. It was one he hadn't called any other girl. How perfect was that. She was his Sunshine.

He stopped his stupid cliché thoughts as he studied the immobile picture for a moment longer. He wondered when she had found the time to sneak into his room and place this perfectly on his bed, but he would never get to ask her that. He found his fingers caressing her cheek and wishing it wasn't paper but the real Raven before him. He sighed. He had it bad…

Suddenly the urge to see her was overwhelming and he hurriedly searched for the small mirror. He made a small noise of contentment as he found it under his bed under several piles of discarded pants.

"Show me Raven," he whispered. His voice cracked and it was barely audible but the mirror knew his wish and showed him anyways.

There she was. Wearing the same outfit he had last seen her in a few days ago. She looked stressed and she was talking to a few people in what appeared to be in a demanding way. He saw the faintest red hue on her wrist and his mind stopped working. Was she hurt? Who had hurt her? Why was their blood on her wrist?

As if the mirror knew what he was searching for it zoomed in on the area and he found himself sighing with relief. She didn't have a wound, but the area was covered in blood. He shivered. Raven had been so … not weak… but more vulnerable during her stay with him. Sure she came off tough and fierce at first but he had seen her vulnerability. It was like he was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. It made him forget that she could be deadly when she wanted.

_Raven was talking again but the sound of horses and other conversation nearly drowned her out. She was talking to someone. A guy with jet black hair and light blue eyes was taking her orders and nodding vigorously to whatever she was saying. Then she addressed a girl with flaming red hair. _

_After that the horses and group cleared and she was left in the middle of the path with two men on either side of her. Her sword was drawn and she had a look on her face he had never seen before. He had seen a similar look when they first met but this was nothing compared to the utter professional look on her face and how it even looked like she was eager to whatever was she was waiting for._

"_Raven?"_

"_Yes Garfield?" _

"_Who do you think set this up?"_

"_We'll just have to find the ring leader and beat the answers out of him," offered the darker man on Raven's other side. _

"_Dibs," all three said at the same time before they exchanged a look and toothy grins._

"_Commanding officer gets dibs," Raven said smoothly and both men offered protests but where cut short by Raven's serious look. _

Raven was a commanding officer? He felt shock and awe steal through him but to be honest with himself he had always known there was something more. After all a girl from Azarath, who was raised by monks couldn't be normal now could she? Plus she had mentioned being a guard of some sorts. He felt an odd sense of pride surge through him before he heard a light knock on his door.

"Go away," he growled.

He just wanted to sit here and think about why Raven had never told him she was a commanding officer. What was she the commanding officer of? Is that why she had hinted that they would forever be enemies? Is that why she wore the Kingdom's seal with such pride?

The knocking on his door persisted and he found a snarl building in his throat.

"I said go away," he snapped when he heard the knob rattle.

"Jason…"

Jinx's voice sounded weak from outside the door. Something was moving in the mirror but he couldn't see it clearly. There was another faint knock at the door before something clicked inside of him. Jinx couldn't knock as a towel and she couldn't reach the door knob so easily… he found his feet running to the door and throwing it wide open.

There she stood in all her former glory. Her pink hair fell in wild tuffs and into her face and hung limp instead of its normal perkiness. Her eyes were narrowed at him as she studied him back before she threw herself into his arms and into a tight hug.

"Is everyone else like this?" he asked feeling unsure of what to do. He pulled himself from her grasp but it didn't escape his attention that a look of pain that flashed through her eyes as he did so. After two years of being an inanimate object she was showing her emotions to him something she would have never done. He found pity welling up inside him.

"Half of them have run off… the 'group' has remained," she said dully and grabbed one arm self-consciously.

By group he knew immediately she meant herself, Gizmo, Roy, Karen, and possibly Garth. He found it slightly amusing that his two closest friends had once been his enemies, but he pushed the thought out of his mind for now.

"I think I need to talk to them," he said quietly and stepped past her and out into the hallway. He tucked the mirror into his belt as he strode out the hall. He felt excitement leaking through every fiber of his being. She had lied to him. She had told him she didn't love him, but if the others were back into their true forms as well…

Just as he was about to exist the main room he heard a sharp hiss emanated from the mirror and chanced a look down at it. His heart jumped into his throat as he tried to make sense of the scene before him.

()()()()()()()()

All around bodies covered the ground. Their blood soaked the road and made the terrain slippery but Raven tried not to pay any attention to that. Her eyes stayed focused on each opponent as they neared, but she wouldn't watch them fall to the ground. She couldn't bring herself to study their faces of pain as they fell to her sword. She felt sweat build on her forehead and she attempted to wipe it off. She frowned when she felt something slimy smear across her face and the scent of metallic blood became stronger.

She must've looked like a savage but she felt like a beast. She snarled as opponent's neared and even felt the satisfaction as they fell before her. It was impossible for these men to get around her and the growing pile of bodies was greatly helping in that matter. She chanced a glance to either side of her and smiled when she saw Garfield and Victor in similar situations. This was just too easy.

By herself she had probably downed twenty men and she saw the other two were similar. The stream of fighters slowed until finally Raven could look up ahead at the road and see the man on the horse that was hanging back.

She felt a scream of terror and anger bubble up in her throat.

"MALCHIOR!"

The man chanced a look up and his eyes lit up in a smile. He even had to audacity to wave nonchalantly as if he was greeting her like an old friend. She began to storm forward but was stopped when someone grabbed the back of her arm. She hissed and tried to twist away from her captor but stopped when she heard Victor's sturdy voice.

"Raven…"

He sounded so pained. He squeezed her arm tighter enough to get her to look back at him and enough to clear her head slightly. His voice was reassuring her, reminding her that she couldn't just storm up to him and try to cut off his head. There was a lot more resting in this than just what had happened to her in the past.

"Sorry," she mumbled and freed herself from his grasp.

She was thankful that he didn't try to stop her again this time. She felt her heart quicken as she took a few steps forward to study him better.

He looked the same. His white long hair hung freely, and his blue eyes were all that could be made out as a scarf covered the rest of his face. His head was held tall and he held the horse's reins in such a way that just screamed pompous ass hole. She found herself bristling.

"Terra?" Garfield's voice cracked beside her.

There she was, blond hair and all, standing beside Malchior's horse and stroking the creature with her long delicate fingers. Raven felt her blood boil to a level she would have never known possible.

"Was she with the rest of the hand maids earlier?" she asked her younger friend. His face paled as he shook his head no.

"Maybe Malchior took her earlier…"

"Garfield we don't have time to trust her. Not now. If Malchior is involved then so is…" Raven cursed loudly as her thoughts caught up to what she was saying.

"You two need to ride back to the rest of the guard now! Do not let any one stop until you guys reach the castle. Do you understand?"

"But Raven what are you-"

"Go now!" she hissed to the two of them. Both of their faces paled as they raced back to their horses and thundered down the path after Kori.

Raven took a deep breath._ Focus_, she told herself. She couldn't let this get to her. She needed to hurry and dispatch of these two while she had the chance and then return to keep Kori safe from that mad man called Slade. With the arrival of Malchior that could only mean that he was involved. She had to hurry.

"Hey there Doc!" Terra said striding forward so that she was a few paces from Raven.

"Don't call me that," she hissed.

She hated Terra for many reasons besides this. Terra was always constantly mocking her position she had had before she became captain of the guard which had been the doctor. She still was used as the doctor on top of her guard duties. That had nothing to do with Terra. She just hated how the girl used the term to degrade her or at least try to. She hated whenever Terra addressed her.

This wasn't the same as all those nights ago when Malchior had betrayed them. This wasn't the same. She had grown she could fight on her own. She felt her hand flex over her sword handle with a little more force as she studied Terra's face.

The girl really seemed to be enjoying herself as she drew her own sword and it caused Raven's stomach to clench painfully.

"All those nights with Kori… You could have killed her then. Why didn't you?" she growled. Terra's eyes flashed with pain for the briefest of a second before she sneered and jerked her thumb to Malchior.

"He told me not to," she said easily.

"Good thing I never trusted you and always placed a guard outside the door. Fool me once shame on you…" she laughed as Terra jumped up and twisted trying to confuse her. She easily side stepped and avoided the blow.

"So you're just a mindless puppet to him now? So sad Terra you really haven't changed," she taunted.

"He's not my lover if that is what you are implying," Terra snapped. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at her. "I've been taking orders from-"

"Terra," Malchior barked from his horse.

"No it's fine. I already know who," Raven said easily. She felt a smile pull on her lips. "It's Slade right?"

Silence met her before Terra's tinkling fake laugh interrupted the calm.

"Yeah right," she sneered.

"You know I never liked you," Raven said offhandedly. "But you were always close by so I did learn things about you. I can tell when you lie."

The blonde's face dropped before she quickly composed herself.

"It doesn't matter anyways if you know or not. I'm going to kill you here and now," the blonde snapped.

Raven found a malicious grin spread across her face. A silent dare to Terra to go ahead and try her best. Raven wasn't placed as Captain without a reason.

"And I'll wipe that stupid smirk off your face when I do," Terra growled as she lunged forward swinging her sword wildly.

Raven parried easily and danced out of Terra's violent blows. She heard the blonde hiss and then the girl kicked dirt up causing the dust to invade Raven's lungs. She coughed once and then pulled her sleeve up to protect her breathing and quickly back pedaled out of the cloud of dust. Her eyes went to the trees. If she could lure Terra into there the girl wouldn't be able to do dirty tricks like that. She shook the thought off though, if she moved she left Malchior room to charge ahead after Victor and Garfield and she was not going to let that happen.

"Going to result to cheap tricks Terra?" she taunted. The blond howled and leapt out of the dust cloud to deliver a forceful blow. Raven was ready though and parried the sword. The meeting metals let out a sharp ring and both felt their swords vibrate violently in their hands.

Malchior's laughter seemed to dance up to the girls. Both froze but neither relaxed their swords as they turned to glare at him.

"Ah if only Terra had won that Catfight between the two of you years ago. How much simpler things would be," he mused. His voice came off in a sing song tone that made Raven's blood boil. She was about to retort when Terra lowered her sword and swung the back of her blade hard into Raven's abdomen. She wheezed and was forced to jump back. She kneeled over struggling to catch her breath as she glared at the pair of them.

"I think I should handle this fight. Don't you agree, Terra? You already failed once," he mocked as he dismounted his horse.

Terra's face flushed and she huffed. She dutifully stepped aside though as Malchior strode up to take her place.

"What do you say we have fun one last time, Rae?" he cooed as he drew his sword.

"I thought you'd never ask," she hissed as she managed to stand up right and glare at him with more force than she knew she had.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hi everyone. Well one thing really. I drew a cover for this story. It's on my DA account. Link is on my page but you'll have to copy and paste it since FF decided to unlink everything. Other than that I don't have much to say this time so I'll just get straight to answering reviews. ^^... (oh and I think it is awesome how many of you seem to be disliking Richard xD. I didn't mean for him to be hated but I guess he is being annoying hahaha)

**Lust For Life - **I think he does miss her :p.

**jabigaeltan- **I'm sorry! I think this one is a cliffy too. My chapters just seem to want to stop whenever they feel like it. Thank you it has been hard trying to keep everyone in character. This is the first story where I've ever made that a point to try and do so. The thing you were confused about. It's Raven's scars that Victor caught a glimpse of. Thanks I found that scene a little hard to write acutally with Victor's leg. I wasn't sure if I did it accurately. Richard seems to be getting on everyone's nerves. xD

**may yuki - **You'll just have to wait and see ~ :)

**TheMaskedShuppeteer- **It is okay! Hahaha. I think 6 points is more than enough to make up for the last two missed :). Karen and Roy was something I was just experimenting on with this story just like Cybory/Starfire. :p sorry that you dislike them but I'm glad you are willing to overlook it. I agree EWW! Hahahaha

**half-demon24- A**h I'm glad you forgot about dear old Slade. He's been lurking in the shadows... xD. When will Richard back off? We should ask him that...

**Glitter Rose - **I have A.D.D. which I do not take medication for and it leads to a lot of randomness in my comments and thought process. It's a challenge to overcome when writing because I have to make sure to tie everything in together and not just have a bunch of stray thoughts hanging around. Luckily I've noticed I can get so wrapped up in things that I can focus entirely on one thing... but that in itself is A.D.D as well hahaha. You'll see reasons why they didn't move later. :D

**CrazyAndLoveable - **You can't kidnap Red X! He's not catchable! Besides **Glitter Rose** and I are already fighting over him ;). Maybe you can have him on Wednesdays and GR can have him on Tuesdays but I get him the rest of the time! Strictly kidding of course. He has told me he wants nothing to do with me and wants only Raven xD.

**sisteroffive16 - **AH-HA! Finally I figured out what it was. I think you are right I'm not used to that much emotion in my chapters but I am glad you still enjoyed it. :D. Also I'm glad you like this style of responding to my reviews._** If anyone has a problem with it please let me know and I won't include you in this little section.**_I wasn't too sure of it at first but it is actually a bit easier for me this way.

**Remy45- **Thank you very much dear. That means a lot coming from you since you are such a tough nut to crack. :p. I only say that since we know each other IRL and I know you can be a big meanie head when you want to be :p. I still love you even though you implied you would beat me if I didn't post this chapter soon. Hahahahaha. xD.

If there ever comes a time when I am unable to respond to reviews this way I want you all to know that I am very thankful and I love every single review I get. It helps me learn and grow as a writer. Even a simple I like it so far or whatever you want to say is encouraging. So please keep them coming :)


	17. Because You Were Fluffy

**A/N: Warning! You've been warned. Brace yourself. **

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Seventeen: Before You Were Fluffy**

He had gotten a lot stronger since the last time she had fought him. He moved effortlessly with his sword as if it was an extension of his arm and his swift movements reminded her of something magical. Maybe it was like a dragon, his movements seemed to flow through the air as he landed blows on her effortlessly. Raven was going to die if they kept up at this pace. Already he had nicked her in several areas to tease her (more like torture her). She found herself grunt in frustration as she felt the cool metal slice on her arm again. She wasn't the best at sword fighting, so she either had to dispose of him fast or something because there was no way she could win like this.

An idea sprang suddenly to her mind as she dodged another light blow from him. He was treating this like Childs play and the thought alone was enough to enrage her, but she kept her cool. She slid her blade up to meet his and with a quick flick, deflected it from his hands and then tossed her own blade aside.

She was surprised it worked.

"Odd," he said as he studied her. His tone implied that he found it odd that she had thought of something clever like that to disarm him and his eyes were smirking at her in such a way that made her want to throttle him. He barely seemed out of breath while she sat there and gasped for air and tried not to make a show of it.

"Hand-to-hand," she grunted out.

His eyes seemed to light up in even more amusement.

"As you wish," he said mocking her with a bow.

She didn't hesitate to make a lunge for him. She had to take advantage of the fact that for the past month all she had been doing nearly every day was spar with a giant beast like man. And that beast hadn't exactly been sluggish. She dodged Malchior's waiting hands with ease and sent a sharp jabbing punch his way only to cringe away at the last second. He was wearing armor! It was a good thing she had caught that otherwise she could have possibly broken her hand.

_Think Raven, think!_ She needed to find a weakness, and quickly. She could feel her strength leave her and fatigue slowly setting in and she knew it would be the death of her.

She dodged his swift kick, but she noticed that with his armor on he didn't have the range that she had. She easily avoided all of his advances. The metal was making him a lot slower and for a split second she thought she saw a glimpse of frustration flash through his eyes before he growled and landed a hard punch on her sternum.

It hurt like hell. Pain laced up through her as she took a sharp breath and tried to collect herself. She tenderly fingered the area for a second trying to test the damage but immediately regretted it as tears sprung to her eyes. It hurt like hell. She had broken it. Her medical training would do her little good with a broken bone in the middle of a fight. She would just have to hope that her body would go into shock and she would find some miracle coupe de grace move to finish this.

She was barely able to register his laughter as he stood above her in a threating way. His sword was back in his hand as he raised it above his head.

"Any last words, my sweet little Raven?" he teased.

"I'm not finished yet," she hissed. She kicked out and felt a smirk steal over her lips as Malchior let out a disgruntled yelp and fell to the ground with a loud thump as her legs knocked him off balance. She ignored the sharp pain and pulled herself up at the same time he did.

The both glared at each other for a long moment before Malchior tossed aside his sword again.

"You want a painful death. Fine I'll give you a painful death," he snarled and reached up to throw away his scarf.

Half of his jaw was missing and the skin that covered it was a bubbling pink with scars that littered it in an almost perfect fashion. His lips were curled into a permanent sneer which completely threw off the calm demeanor his eyes gave off. Raven found herself swallowing a bitter feeling as she looked at his burned face.

"That scarf suits you better."

What the hell was wrong with her? Did she just tease him? He let out a barbaric snarl before he lunged at her; she barely had enough time to dash away and send a sweeping kick at his feet. He had caught on to her ways of trying to knock him off balance though, and he jumped up and threw a punch into her sternum again. She hissed out and rolled on the ground to her left. She kicked upwards this time, relishing as she connected with what would have been his groin as the ping of metal rang out. It was enough to slow him for a second, as she pushed herself up on shaking arms. She had a split second to study him again before he charged.

She did her best to stay out of his reach but fatigue was catching up to her. She wasn't sure when it happened but she had a nasty cut on her forehead and blood was dripping into her right eye halfway blinding her.

"At least last time I almost died I got to look at something handsome."

She hissed in pain as his kick hit her hard in the back and forced her to fall to the ground. She wearily pulled herself up as she studied the panting man. He seemed so enraged, so unlike himself. She had remembered during their last fight how collected he had been how the roles had been so reversed, where she had been winning and the one full of rage. She shook her head as a laugh escaped her.

She tried to stop but she couldn't. Her laughter held her immobile and gasping in pain but she continued. Tears formed in her eyes, and she held her sides desperately trying to calm herself. She gave up, letting her body slump to the ground in a fit of giggles. Her mind roared to pull herself together but her body wouldn't respond to its demand.

She felt him pin her to the ground, and his cool hands wind their way around her neck.

"I won't let you die laughing," he hissed as he applied some pressure. She still laughed, choking in between. "Especially at my expense," he pushed her face roughly into the ground.

And there it was. Her moment. The moment of weakness she had been waiting for. He was leaning over her, his neck completely exposed and out of his armor but her mind grew foggy as oxygen was starting to become harder to get. With a last ditch effort she laughed with a little more force, and starting fumbling in her pockets. She needed to distract him and obviously her laughter was bothering him.

"I said to stop laughing. You're going to die Raven. What the hell could be so funny?"

He was leaning over her completely now. His face was close enough for her to kiss. His rancid breath invaded her nose and she found a small grimace take place and her laughter finally calmed for a brief second before it picked back up. She had to keep laughing to distract him now, but then again she wasn't sure why she had been laughing to begin with. Maybe it was a bout of insanity as she faced death.

"Your face is funny Mal."

God she felt like Garfield. Who dropped stupid lines like that? This fight had definitely pushed her over the brink of insanity. Either way she found her face erupting into an earsplitting grin as Malchior's face twisted into the ugliest expression she had ever seen. The use of his hated nickname made the moment even so much sweeter to her. She couldn't help but get some satisfaction out of how much she was getting under his skin. She felt his slap sting her face but it didn't matter. It had worked to distract him.

"I think I'm getting the last laugh Rae," he said calmly despite his shaking hands and his unbridled fury behind his eyes. His hands tightened ever so slightly on her neck.

"No, I'm getting the last laugh," she said calmly as her hand in her pocket found the knife she had been searching for. With her hips she quickly bucked against him and unbalanced him. She rolled causing him to crash to the ground, and his heavy armor slowed his movements, using that to her advantage she pounced on top of him and held her knife close to his neck. Blood poured out of the angry line she drew as she pressed down on him with a little more force than she meant to.

"Ha ha," she said drily.

()()()()()()()

"Raven?" Roy asked.

The question came from his left but he knew he had just been about to voice her name as well.

The girl didn't look up but grunted in acknowledgement as she pulled on a piece of rope. The blonde girl under her grunted in pain and shot her a resentful look as she pulled the rope tighter a few times.

"Who goes there?" a man called out to them. The man had white hair and a suit of metal on that gleamed in the light, and was tied up back to back with the blonde girl.

"Shut up you bucket of bolts," Raven hissed and kicked the metal suit. She flinched slightly but he guessed she got some satisfaction out of it judging by her smirk. He could have sworn he heard her hiss something to him along the lines of 'I'm in charge here' but he couldn't be sure.

"Raven?" Karen asked this time.

It seemed so surreal, unearthly as he studied her from the brush that hid him from her view. Karen and Roy stepped out of the woods along with Garth.

"Who are you?" Raven asked wearily as she studied them. One eye studied them as she slowly pressed a loose cloth to her other eye to wipe off some of the blood that was pouring out of her forehead.

She was covered in cuts, and she looked like she was having a hard time standing but she drew herself to her full height and gave them a glare that would have made any normal or sane person turn tail and run for their life. Even if one of her eyes was closed shut and a torrent of blood was gushing out of her forehead she still looked menacing. He wasn't sure how she pulled it off but she did. She discarded the cloth as it soaked with blood, and pressed her other hand firmly against it trying to stop the blood flow. He heard Gizmo and Jinx shift uncomfortable next to him but he ignored them and waited with baited breath for the scene to unfold before him.

"It's us. You know… we came here to rescue you," Roy said sheepishly and smiled at her. He saw her face light up in recognition as she started sputtering incoherently for a moment.

"Roy?" she asked. Her voice cracked and he half expected her jaw to unhinge as she blinked rapidly a few times. "Karen?" she said turning to the girl. Her face broke out in a smile as she stumbled forward. "Garth?" she guessed. The former fish nodded.

"Rescue me? I don't need rescuing," she pouted playfully. They all shook their heads in awe at her antics. Raven looked like she was about to say more. She took a timid step forward before her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she collapsed.

He shot out of the bushes a moment too late and refrained from growling as Roy caught her with ease. He itched to reach out and steal her from Roy's hands but refrained. The red haired man seemed to sense his unease and gently lowered Raven to the ground as Karen began tending to her. He looked at his friends stupidly for a moment and then back to the two people that were tied on the ground. His face grew serious as he looked back at the white haired man, his blood turning cold as images from the mirror played out before his eyes again. He could do nothing to help Raven but get in the way of her treatment, so he might as well do something _productive_.

"I have a few questions for you," he growled. The man just sneered back up at him, his eyes fanning innocence.

"I highly doubt you'll like the answers," the man said truthfully despite the stubborn look that crossed his eyes.

"Oh I doubt that too. But if you don't answer truthfully I promise I'll cause you more pain than you've ever felt in your life," he snapped and lowered himself so that he was level with the man. "I don't know who you are or where the fuck you came from but so help me god if I ever see you lay a finger on Raven again I will murder you in the most painful way possible."

"See me?" the man asked a coy smile drawing on his lips.

His vision blurred to red as he grabbed the man by his armor and pulled him closer. "I see everything," he snarled. He took a deep breath resisting the urge to pummel the man and collected his cool as he lowered him back down.

"Now I have a few _questions_," he stressed the last part as he rolled his eyes over the man. The man looked over him in a bored manner, obviously unaffected but nodded. He didn't care as long as he got answers from him.

He felt Jinx step up next to him and glare down at the blonde girl.

"Want my help?" she purred.

He was very tempted to tell her yes but he had a feeling that if Raven hadn't killed these people despite whatever they had put her through she wouldn't be too pleased if he let Jinx… _dispatch_ of them.

"I'll manage," he told her curtly. He clenched his jaw as he studied them for a long hard moment before taking a long breath.

"Why were you trying to kill her?" he asked in what he hoped was a patient tone. The blonde girl gasped as she struggled against her bindings, hot tears were rolling down her face in what he hoped was regret.

"She was in the way," the man said calmly.

"The way of what?"

"The princess," he eyed him as if he were stupid. "You know Princess Koriand'r, the younger of the two princesses? The one that hasn't been married off and has rights to the throne of Tamera?"

"How was Raven in your way of that?"

"Do you really not know?" the man asked laughing. "She's the Princess's Guard Captain. I can't exactly just kidnap the princess without going through her and several others first."

He let the silence fall between them. Even if this man kept mocking him he seemed to be giving him straight answers. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Karen giving Raven a few stitches on some deeper wounds on her arms while at the same time holding something on her head to clot the blood there and Jinx was even bending over her with a frown on her lips. Gizmo, Roy, and Garth looked on hopelessly and made a few attempts to make Raven more comfortable. He shifted uncomfortably as he turned back to face the man. He felt a deep breath of air absorb into his lungs and held it a moment. If he didn't he was sure just looking at this monster that had hurt Raven so much would make him commit a crime he had yet to do in his life so far. Murder seemed so much more appealing now.

"Who's this Slade guy?" he asked carefully. He heard the blonde gasp and he was sure the tears were running down her face faster and even the man eye's widened slightly. He smirked. "I wasn't kidding when I said I see _everything_," he hissed lowly enough for the pair of them to hear him. The man now seemed lip locked but the blonde's fast falling tears were enough to let him know he should try asking her.

"Well?" he said leering down at her.

"He's a mercenary… a greedy bastard that has no limit to his ambitions. He wants the throne…" the blonde coughed out. She hissed in pain as the man slammed his head backwards against hers. "He promised he wouldn't hurt Garfield or any of them if I just helped him get rid of Raven…" she looked like she was pleading with him for forgiveness but he found his stomach revolting in disgust.

"That boy Garfield mentioned you… Terra?" he said coolly not really questioning her. He knew her name along with this bastard that was tied up with her. He just couldn't bring himself to acknowledge him. She nodded, her eyes glimmering with some type of hope.

"He said to not trust you as soon as Raven said she saw you standing next to this bozo," he said flatly. The boy hadn't really said that but he felt some sort of satisfaction of seeing the pain flash before the girl's eyes before she withdrew into herself. She deserved it, she had hurt Raven. She had hurt his sunshine. He took a deep breath and unclenched his fists which he hadn't known he had been clenching…

The girl gave a dry sob. He turned his attention back to the man.

"So I'm guessing his motive is to kidnap the Princess while she is on the move. You guys were just supposed to apprehend Raven."

"And the other two but our sweet little Raven thought she could handle us and sent those two off after the princess," the man said his face turning into a disgusting smile that seemed to peel back his skin more than it should around his mouth.

"Do you want your scarf back?" he asked impulsively feeling revulsion build up at the sight of him. The man snarled a 'yes' which only made Jason crack into a smile.

"So 'little Raven' seems like more than enough to handle you," he said dully as he picked up the scarf and stuffed it over the man's face without any gentleness. He now understood why Raven hated being called a 'little bird' it was just another assortment of insults she got from this jerk. He hated that this man had wrecked something inside of her, it was so clear to see. The way she said his man was enough to scream about a past he didn't want to hear about.

"She would have passed out soon and we would have gotten out of these bonds. She lost too much blood," the man said in a bored tone.

"Jinx," he called over his shoulder. The pink haired girl was at his side almost instantaneously. "I need these two to be unconscious for a bit," he told her. "If they get hurt a little bit in the process I don't mind," he added dully as he turned away. Jinx's face was lit up in a grin that she got only for a task like that. He never really had the heart to do that type of thing maybe that was why Jinx was his go to person. He heard a sickening thump as he walked away and collected a few of the horses on the side of the road. He would need them later. He led eight horses to a tree and tethered them there before turning back and studying the blood soaked road.

"Roy, Garth, come here," he said sternly. The smell of the dying bodies wafted up to them as he studied the path. "We need to clear this path to move along the road," he said. He cringed with them at the thought of having to move all these bodies but it was a task that had to be done.

()()()()()()()

A bunch of familiar banter paraded throughout her dreams. She was rocking slowly as if she was riding something and she was slumped over something warm. She was held closely by a pair of warm arms and something rested on top of her head. The middle of her chest throbbed dully with each movement and breath she took. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming, it was all surreal. She had beaten Malchior and Terra in a state she knew was close to death. She could hear all her new friends talking about the other two with disdain, she heard Karen crack a joke about Jinx's pink hair, and Gizmo whine about something with a horse, Roy and Garth were in a heated discussion about prior skills, and someone was humming in contentment close by to her.

And what she meant by close by was she was resting her face on someone's warm hard abs. You would think that region would be uncomfortable but Raven found herself not caring and letting her face press as close to the familiar musky scent and smooth skin as possible. This must be heaven, surrounded by friends…

Her eyes shot open.

"Jason?" she whispered not daring to look up in case she was wrong.

"Yes Sunshine?" his familiar voice greeted her. His tone was low enough only for her to catch so the others continued rambling on aimlessly. She felt her heart slam into her chest at the nickname she would have never guessed she would hear come from him. Even if it was her designated approved nickname she still disliked it. At least it was different than other ones she had been given.

A million questions blared through her mind. How did he find her? Where were they going? How long had she been out? She shifted and hissed when she felt her sternum give a sharp pain in protest.

"Am I dead?" she asked curiously. She kept her face tucked into his chest and found an odd comfort in hearing his racing heart.

"Don't go dropping corny lines on me now Angel," he teased. "You aren't dead," he added solemnly when she remained silent.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," he answered, he shifted in his seat uncomfortable and Raven repressed a growl. He only shifted around when he was nervous or lying.

"What happened?" she demanded, chancing to raise her voice slightly.

"You tell me," he shot back sounding annoyed. He wouldn't just answer the question. She was about to snap at him before she heard a clink of armor and deathly silence. Her heart plummeted as she shifted and tensed getting ready for what she felt was inventible. She felt Jason's grip on her tighten slightly as he turned around to glare over his shoulder.

"It's just Malchior," he said quietly into her ear giving her a reassuring squeeze. The squeeze hurt like hell but she found herself relaxing slightly.

She wondered what the hell Malchior had done to make such a noise and she tried to peak out from under Jason's arm to see. Her vision was blocked though and she heard a few scuffling noises before Roy said something curt and there was sharp ping of metal ringing out in the night.

"Listen here ugly. We haven't killed you yet because Raven took the time to tie you up. Make another move like that and my arrows will definitely find a way to harm you," Roy's voice said tightly from somewhere to her left and behind her.

After a few more moments of tense silence the group relaxed again and fell back into the conversations they had been having before.

"How did you know… where to find me?" she settled on asking returning the attention to where it had been earlier.

"The fairy did leave me a present. I never got the chance to show you though," he said. He pulled on something close to his pants and slipped a mirror to her. "It shows me whatever I want to see." Raven nodded into his chest as her hands ran over the smooth object.

"It's from Azarath," she said quietly fingering the small mirror in her hands with fascination. "It's an old relic though, and its magic was lost a long time ago. It's considered to be one of the most coveted things in the world. They say that Tamera started the war for it," she babbled to him.

"I thought it was just some weird Fairy thing," he muttered under his breath. They both chuckled at his words.

"It's odd that a Fairy had it," she whispered trailing off in thought.

"So you were watching me?" she teased changing the subject and daring to tilt her head up to study his features. The sun was quickly fading behind the horizon and the dim light did nothing but flatter Jason's handsome features. His handsome-fully-human features. She found a large blush steal over her face.

"Are you sure I'm not dead?" she whispered to herself and blushed when she saw Jason's bright blue eyes looking down at her with a look that screamed mischief.

"I might have been watching you," he said. His lips twitched into a small smile. "I told you not to drop corny lines on me. That's my job Sunshine," he teased and paused before explaining a little further, "I came dashing through the woods and by the time I get to the site you're all done with the trouble and I can do nothing but let Karen and Jinx patch you up and try to get some answers."

"So where are we heading?" she asked.

"Where did you want to go Sunshine?" he countered.

"To Kori," she said fiercely stirring to look at him fully and hiding the flinch her body did as it exerted itself.

"Of course. We're already on our way," he said flatly. She had no choice but to trust him since she couldn't shift in the seat and check their location.

"So you're up to speed on the situation?" she asked. She felt him nod and relaxed into his chest slightly. She was surprised that he was willing taking her to an area he knew would be dangerous. As if he heard her thoughts his arms tightened on her slightly as if he was trying to reassure himself she was still there and alive. His eyes studied her for a long moment before he let out a breath.

"I'm helping," he told her flatly in a tone that suggested it was best not to argue. It implied that he wasn't just going to drop her off and leave her there and she found comfort in his short reassurance. They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment. The rocking of the horse lured her close to sleep.

"Hey, Jason?" Raven questioned. She hoped he wouldn't look down and notice the blush that was stealing over her face.

"Yes, Raven?"

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Jason chuckled and shrugged.

"I was in a rush to get out the door to save my damsel in distress. I wasn't thinking about clothing I may or may not be lacking," he teased. His lips lowered and kissed the top of her head in the most affectionate way. She knew she was flushed to her roots now. "Too bad I was already wearing pants," he whispered his breath tickling her.

"Pervert," she muttered under her breath and this time Jason laughed loudly. His laughter sounded lighter than she had ever heard it, and she felt her own laughter join his willing as the sun sank behind the horizon.

"You've never complained before," he teased.

"Before you were fluffy," she muttered darkly.

"Oh so now I'm unlovable because of the lack of fluff I have. I'm hurt," he fake growled. He grabbed her hands and guided them up to the hair on his head. "You can still curl you fingers in this," he said his tone for once didn't have that suggestive tone and Raven gasped slightly at his serious tone.

She let her fingers wind into the familiar feeling of the soft brown curls and she pressed her face to the crook of his neck to get more comfortable. Her chest throbbed slightly but she ignored it.

"You always did like to touch my hair," he teased.

She chose not to answer that. Before was different. Before he had been a beast and now… now he was very human. It didn't stop her from reacting to him and she wondered if further on down the road if this would spell disaster for her or not. She couldn't bring herself to be negative though. The very fact that she made it out alive made her hopes soar, and she knew that the sooner they got to Kori the better off she would be. She had to protect her friend no matter what the cost and she was glad that Jason understood that. It was something she had to do, not something she wanted to do. It gave her hope that things would work out in the end. It made her believe that things would work out in the end. They had to. Jason came to her and she was alive, there was nothing that could wreck her mood.

She sighed letting her fingers tangle and untangle themselves in his hair enjoying and practically savoring the warm feeling of his breath on her neck and the beat of his heart beat against hers.

Little did Raven know that a certain someone was riding back on the path to her as fast as his horse would allow. She wouldn't get to keep this new found peace forever.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Alright so this was a very long chapter! I'm going to keep the ending author's note short and express my thanks to all you reviewers. **Remy45, sisteroffive16, jabigaeltan, Glitter Rose, half-demon24, Lust for Life, **and** may yuki. **Thanks for all of your reviews guys. :D. I'll be sure to write a shorter chapter next time to address you all.


	18. Bonds

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Eighteen: Bonds **

Raven found herself shifting in her seat trying to get comfortable. It didn't help that she had to share a horse, with a shirtless man who may or may not be distracting her with his touches, and it definitely didn't help that she had a broken bone in the most awkward place in her body. She felt a jolt of pain lace up throughout her body at the slightest movements and even with the slow pace of the horse she found it hard to not pass out from the amount of pain.

So she guessed in some ways it was nice that Jason was there. He was distracting her from her pain but at the same time she couldn't help but notice an awkward strain between them. There was something he was withholding to himself that he wasn't sharing with her and it was starting to become obvious as the night wore on. She would have to find some way to confront him about it.

"Rae, we should stop and rest," he said lightly into her ear. She ignored the shivers and shook her head 'no'.

"We can't afford-" she was cut off by his hand wrapping smoothly over her mouth.

"We can't afford to keep going like this and showing up exhausted. If we are going to help we will need as much rest as possible," he said in flat tone. Raven sighed but found herself nodding dully. She was thankful that he had pushed for a stop. She wasn't sure how much more jostling from the ride she could take. He released her and signaled to the others to stop, in which a collective sigh escaped everyone.

"They aren't in the best physical shape. They've used up more energy today than they have in two years," he offered as he swung himself off their horse. He hopped down lightly and held his arms out to her.

She growled and shifted in her seat so she slid off the horse at the other end.

"I'm not about to go dashing into your arms all willingly and whatnot," she grumbled mostly to herself. That was the same reason she had stopped liking Richard, she hated being weak and swooning it was unbecoming.

"I know. You only seem to do that when you're physically hurt or half asleep," he teased poking his head around the horse to send her a cocky smirk. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he finished and waved her off lazily towards the direction of everyone else as he began to take care of the horse. She huffed and turned to the camp to help set it up.

Only everyone waved her off, and Raven found herself sulking by the fire. She hated feeling so useless. Karen studied her with worried eyes, her full lips pouting at her friend.

"You need to lie down," she said softly and not very loudly. Raven guessed that out of everyone only Jason heard her. Raven scoffed and bent over the fire intent on doing something useful like adding wood, but stopped as white hot pain of the broken bone stopped her. She hissed to herself as she slid down to the earth and rested in the most comfortable way possible. Her chest felt like it was on fire and to top it all off it was itchy.

"Alright fine," she grumbled. Karen patted her hand sympathetically before turning to Jason and mumbling something she couldn't hear.

She wasn't sure when she fell asleep but it felt like merely seconds later she was struggling to open her eyes as she heard a loud disturbance from within the camp. A familiar voice was gruffly talking to Jason and Raven found herself rolling her head in the general direction trying to strain her ears to listen better.

"Look I don't know who you are but I have orders to bring Raven back with me," a deep voice was practically snarling. Raven felt dread clench inside her as she realized who it was.

"I don't care who you have your 'orders' from. I'm not just going to hand her over to you," Jason snapped.

"It's not like I would take her while she is unconscious. Go wake her up I need to talk to her," Richard's voice sounded irritated and from the faint foot falls she could guess that he was making his way over to her. The footsteps stopped and there was a low growl that she knew was coming from Jason.

"Didn't you know it's impolite to poke a bear while it's sleeping?" he growled.

"What, like you've woken her up before while she slept? Who the hell are you anyways?" Richard growled.

"If I wanted you to know who I was then I wouldn't be wearing a mask now would I?" Jason's voice said sarcastically. "And maybe I have woken her up on accident before. I've slept with Raven _many_ times," he added offhand with that damn tone that just reeked with male pride. Raven felt her face heat up at the implication even though neither of them had their immediate attention on her and thought she was sleeping. She found it even more embarrassing that she wasn't thinking of ways to kill him for that statement.

She heard a shuffle of movement before she heard Jason bark out, "Look kid, you aren't going to wake her up for some stupid trivial matter. She needs her rest. She just had to fight those two." She propped herself up slightly to see Jason holding the back of Richard's arm as he gestured over to where the two tied villains lay. Jason had at some point slipped his infamous mask on but even with it she could tell he was annoyed. Maybe it was just his tone of voice. The two looked close to exchanging blows and Raven found herself cursing silently under her breath.

"Enough you two," she barked. On the inside she felt a bit smug to see Richard pale and Jason stiffen slightly, that and how sturdy her voice came off even if she had just woken up. "Stop bickering like school girl's I'm already awake," she grumbled and sat herself up fully. It was with some difficulty that she managed to prop herself up into a sitting position.

"Raven?" Richard breathed out with relief and question. "What are you doing with this guy? And why is he wearing a mask? What is going on? Why is Malchior here? Why do you-"

"One thing at a time," Raven growled seating up and wincing as she felt that throb in her chest. It was starting to become a reflex to just flinch whenever she moved. She smiled gratefully as Jason sat down next to her and offered her the canteen and took a large swig of the refreshing water. She gasped slightly as she finished the contents and looked back at Richard's confused face.

The others were still sleeping by the campfire which dull embers burned red and white. The sky looked grey and bleak and the stars were starting to fade. The chill in the air seemed to thicken around them as Raven pulled her blanket closer to her body.

Wait she had a blanket? She looked around and blinked a few times, suddenly realizing she wasn't in the place she had last remembered. She was a few yards away from the fire, and next to her was obviously a place someone else had been sleeping. She fought a blush as Richard's searching eyes met hers, Jason's implications filling the air with awkwardness.

"Well?" Richard started impatiently waiting for answers.

"Why aren't you with Kori?" Raven half screamed as her senses came to her. A few of the figures near the fire stirred in their sleep but otherwise all remained still.

Raven found herself in a staring contest with Boy Wonder. Jason cleared his throat drawing himself back into the line of fire. He made a show of pulling Raven into his lap and moving his arms up and down her sides and even with his mask on she could feel his smirk.

"Not to interrupt your little lover's quarrel, but I think Rae here has a point," he said squeezing her slightly. "Our priority is Kori. We are riding up to meet with the Royal Guard. Now what the hell are you doing here and looking for Raven in the middle of the night?" he asked his tone lowering.

"Kori sent me after Raven to retrieve her if she wasn't back by sunset. Garfield and Victor made it back to us an hour after the sun's fall and they said Raven was taking on Malchior and Terra. I was supposed to be her back up," Richard spilled out hotly, his eyes narrowing at every movement Jason made on Raven's body. Seeing as Jason was now making a show and moving his hands dangerously close to certain areas. Raven tensed and hissed under her breath which caused him to stop.

"Well too bad for you I showed up," Jason snapped. "Looks like I'm the one that gets to kiss the girl," he teased rolling up his mask so quickly it was inhuman and planted a soft kiss on Raven's cheek. She made a show of wiping it off and struggled to get out of his lap. She didn't like how he seemed to be holding her over Richard's head, like they were competing over her. She lost her struggle though, as the sharp pain in her chest left her immobile against him.

"I would have shown up and taken care of this mess, since it is part of _my duty_. You never answered me. Who the hell are you?" Richard was standing up now. His fists were clenched as he took a threating step forward.

"Whenever you had shown up it might have been too late for Raven," Jason snapped. He let his sentence hang in the air dangerously for a second. "And do I really need to quote myself from earlier?" Jason sighed dramatically changing the mood. "If I –"

"I thought I told you two to stop fighting like a bunch of school girls," Raven snapped interrupting them again. This time she successfully pushed herself out of Jason's lap and glared at the two of them.

"I don't have time for this. Questions can come later. Wake the camp, everyone's had enough rest. We're riding out. Now," she snapped and surprisingly both male's went about to comply with her wishes.

()()()()()()()()()

"I don't like you."

"Good, now that that's settled can you please guide the horse to the left? The path is muddier on this side," Raven snapped as Jinx hissed in her ear and complied.

"I've never liked you," the pink hair girl mumbled.

"Feeling is mutual," Raven said shrugging off the painful jolt of Jinx leaning forward on her back.

"If you hurt him I'll find a thousand new ways to torture you," Jinx growled.

"Hurt him? I think in my state I'm physically incapable of hurting anyone let alone Jason," Raven snapped turning slightly to eye the girl. She cursed her bad luck to the heavens and back for getting stuck on the same horse with this stupid girl.

"I don't mean physically," she snapped. "Honestly how could he fall for a girl like you?"

"As opposed to why he didn't fall for a girl like you?" Raven shot back. _Ouch, that might have been hitting below the belt,_ she thought to herself as Jinx's face fell and for a moment she wondered if the girl would shove her off the horse, or better yet, stage her death and blame a freak accident.

"Now I see it," the girl said her eyes lighting up in a smile. "You pretend to be this goody good person while deep down you're even worse than he is, and he's trying to understand you and can't figure you out. At least I don't pretend to go against my nature. I'm 100% myself all the time," the girl cackled. Raven briefly wondered why no one else noticed their conversation but then she noticed that their horse was a bit behind everyone else's.

She saw Richard flash a worried look over his shoulder before she smiled reassuringly at him. It seemed like he was listening intently, but she knew she could handle this … girl.

"I'm not a fake if that is what you are implying," she found that she liked this girl less and less with every passing second.

"Of course not," the girl laughed loudly again, and jostled Raven causing her to wince.

Raven chose to let that statement send them into silence. It was several minutes later when Jinx finally spoke up again.

"I'm serious. Figure out what you want… and it better be him. I won't see him getting hurt."

Raven found herself regretting not just accepting the ride with Jason earlier, but accepting his ride meant refusing Richard's who had requested right away and she had agreed for a status update on everything. After seeing both of their hurt glances she couldn't handle it and just picked a person at random. Of course it had to be her least favorite person here, excluding Malchior and Terra.

"I know what I want," she said quietly to herself. She felt Jinx nod and the ride after that went surprisingly smooth.

()()()()()()()()

"They are talking about you," the boy said quietly. Their horses were side by side and they were close enough to even brush against each other. Jason found himself rolling his eyes.

"Because I'm the better looking one," he offered. He really didn't care that Jinx and Raven were talking. Raven could handle herself and Jinx would never hurt her… at least she wouldn't kill her. Jinx wasn't as cold hearted as she came off.

"Like they would be talking about something as trivial as looks," the boy scoffed. "Raven's a lot smarter than that."

"Yeah but she's still a girl," Jason countered smirking as the other boy's face darkened a shade.

"You're not interested in what they could be saying? Raven's acting odd and we need to be fully prepared for whatever lies ahead."

"Do you always obsess over girls or just Raven?" Jason snapped feeling irritated.

"I just want to know everything will work out in the end. A guy can't help but worry about a girl he loves," he offered sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

_He loves her_, Jason felt an odd pang in his chest as he studied the man out of the corner of his eye. He would have taken off his mask but the stupid git caught him with it on and he had no choice but to leave it for the time being. Call it something short of pride but he also liked the fact that this boy was genuinely bothered by not seeing his face. That and he couldn't put Raven in danger with people knowing his identity at least not until they figured out what to do about his past but luckily the two years of his absence had made the world forget him, or at least this boy had no clue who he was. Still he refused to take off the mask. Something just screamed not to trust this guy, or maybe he just flat out didn't like him.

He wasn't sure if he could ever like someone who loved Raven like that. It wasn't natural. Love was between two people not three and he had found her first. He half scoffed at his thoughts, _what is this? Finder's keepers?_ He didn't care about the history between these two, there was obviously something there but it didn't seem like it mattered. It was something about how Raven treated this guy, kind of cold, a bit like how she first treated him when she arrived to the castle. There also seemed to be some type of power struggle or order ranking mishap. Raven wasn't the type to let her men get away with insubordination. He didn't have to worry though this guy next to him seemed a lot duller than he was. Jason was positive he was much more interesting to Raven then this bozo.

"So what should I call you? Or can I settle for Jack Ass," the boy asked interrupting him from his thoughts.

"Funny that's what I was planning on calling you," he answered. The boy's mouth hung open in protest, probably with a witty come back, but he cut him off. "You can call me X or Red X."

There was a long pause in the air.

"_Unbelievable_! How the hell do you tie in to all of this?" the boy spat out. As if his mask didn't give him away? He scoffed. This kid was a bit slower than what he had given him credit for.

"Obviously with Raven," he answered coolly.

"Why?"

"Do I have to explain the nature of humans to you or something? Come on kid. It's because I love her," he snapped exasperated.

There was another long pause.

"That makes two of us then."

"Yup," Jason said letting his lips smack together to emphasis the 'p'.

"Nothing else?"

"Nope, why?"

"You don't seem like the type that lets his girl get stolen right out from under his nose," the boy said cockily.

"I'm the thief here. I don't think I have to worry about some puny fly," he smirked as the kid's face lit up in anger. He kicked his horse forward and left the kid fuming. He rode up beside Roy and Garth who were busy trying to talk Gizmo into leading the horses for a bit.

"My horse isn't even a horse," Gizmo whined. "It's a mule!"

Roy and Garth busted into laughter and Jason found his own lips tugging into a smile.

Garth patted him friendly on the back in welcome. The darker haired man had to practically lean over both of their horses to do so but for some reason it didn't seem like an out of place gesture. Garth was just the kind of guy that blended into the back ground and Jason couldn't remember a time they had even had a conversation by themselves. Despite it all Garth had stayed, he wasn't sure what the reason was. Garth was better friend's with Roy than with himself and being stuck as a fish for two years he had been unable to wrestle like everyone else. It must have been torture. He felt a swell of affection for his friends all of them that had stayed. Especially now, when he was leading them into the unknown for a girl he loved. He smiled sheepishly at his friend feeling thankful that despite everything he had still stuck around.

"We should stop and rest soon. Raven looks paler," Garth said in an undertone to him.

"A quick stop would be a good excuse to get her away from Jinx," Roy agreed. "I'd rather see her riding with you than with Jinx," he added when he noticed Jason's questioning stare.

So it wasn't really for him that his friends were doing this. They were doing it because they had all befriended Raven. You can't leave a friend in need and she needed them, all of them.

Still that didn't stop the feeling of happiness he had well up inside him. He sure had great friends.

"Yeah that pink haired girl looks like trouble," the boy from earlier was back and riding beside them like he belonged here. Jason felt his eye brow twitch. He just didn't give up did he?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sooo I wasn't sure about the last chapter but you guys seemed to enjoy it. Sorry about the long wait... I know I'm awful. Well I'll post this chapter a few days early to make up for it. ;). I have the next chapter written out already as well but I might have to wait a bit before I post itI hope. (Proofreading and such).

Thanks to everyone who is reading this story and following it. You guys rock some awesome socks.

Now for my response to reviewers. :p

**TheMaskedShuppeteer - **I really enjoyed that line as well. I can just see Raven getting all hysterical and on the brink of death and letting a little more emotion show even to her foe and be acting like her friends. XD. Anyways glad that chapter was your favorite so far. I hope you hear your opinon on this one as well :).

**Glitter Rose - **Well this chapter is more of my usual length. I'm sure everyone noticed but they decided to keep to themselves for the moment ;). And I was unsure of it too. I just wasn't sure how else to end that chapter. We'll see how it plays out.

**Lust For Life** - Of course. I could never leave a story unfinished... although I do have several works in progress that I should update...

**may yuki- **For right now I don't think he is going to challenge him to the death. Eh... I don't know they really don't like each other though... We'll see in later chapters then :p

**Ten-Faced -** I'm glad this chapter was worth the wait! Like I said I feel bad for making you guys wait so long. I'll have to make it up to you by posting this a few days earlier than planned. :)

**half-demon24 - **Glad to know you enjoyed their interaction in that last chapter. I wasn't sure how the whole teasing would come off since for the most part they have had a rather strained relationship.

**sisteroffive16 - **You're making me blush! :p. Thanks for dropping a review and I'm glad you liked that last chapter so much. (Part of the reason as to why it took me so long to update.)


	19. Strings

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Nineteen: Strings**

That girl was just a freak. A stupid freak with purple hair and purple eyes and freakishly pale skin, that's all that girl is. What did she have that made her so different? What made her special? She didn't blindly obey X with unyielding loyalty. In fact she often challenged him, rose up against him, and defied him. Yet she was the one he was in love with.

Still she couldn't complain too much. She had her body back. She had her own will back. Yet she still found herself taking orders from him, blindly following him, and loving him. Was there no end to her bad luck?

"Why is your name Jinx anyways?" the purple haired freak asked. They had been riding for hours and the sun was about to set. The mood among the group was dark and strained. No one was talking; everyone was brooding, and preparing themselves for whatever lied ahead.

"Why is your name Raven?" she shot back annoyed. Her name was a rather personal question that tied into her stupid unlucky feelings for Jason.

"I chose it," she answered. "I chose to be a dark bird. On the path to Tamera I saw all these dark birds picking out scraps of flesh from the carcasses of my people and I thought 'I'm just like those birds'. I gave up my people and joined the enemy so I could survive. I picked at what was left of my culture and consumed it. I gave it up to save myself. So when given the chance I lied about my name. A bit morbid don't you think?" she laughed quietly to herself.

Jinx felt something well up inside her as she leaned back in her seat, trying to keep herself as far as possible from the girl.

"Why tell all me this?" she hissed at Raven.

"I'm going to die and none of it matters anymore," she answered simply.

"If it doesn't matter why tell me?" she felt her irritation rise as she glared at the back of her head. The purple hair danced and caught the light in such a beautiful way it looked like a thousand gems strung together.

The girl just shrugged and let out a contented sigh. This girl is so weird!

"Jason gave me my name. I was always falling down the stairs or messing up a heist or breaking something valuable…" she trailed off and tried to swallow as her tongue dried.

Why did she just blurt that out? Maybe it was a stupid trick used by people in the authorities to get information out of people? It didn't feel like that though. It felt like something strained had been broken and all the sizing up between them had crashed around their ears. It felt pointless now to hate a girl that was going to die, who knew she was going to die and there would be no stopping her. It didn't matter if Jason loved her now, and it was selfish to cling to him anyways. She should have let him go a long time ago. She should have let him go the minute the curse didn't lift when she admitted her love to him all those years ago.

"You know what is sad? I can't even remember my real name," Jinx said starting to laugh. She noticed that Raven winced (she had been doing that a lot during the ride, she assumed it was because of her wounds) and tried to pull back her laughter but she couldn't. The rest of the group studied them with weary eyes. Jinx finally pulled herself out of her fit of laughter and a comfortable silence fell between her and Raven.

"Alright let's set up camp," Roy called out from the front of the group.

She dismounted and she was about to turn and go about her business when she noticed something. Raven was still stuck on the horse, her lips were pursed and her fists were clenched. Without saying a word Jinx reached up and tugged the girl down with ease. Raven smiled appreciatively and Jinx nodded. Their silent exchange went on unnoticed by the others.

For some reason, their relationship changed in an instant. She couldn't figure out why. She couldn't figure out Raven. Raven was a darkness she would never be able to understand yet there was something there, right under the surface. Maybe it was the flash of hope in her eyes, or the drive she had to not moan out in pain or complain about her wounds. Maybe it was her oddly colored hair.

Whatever it was Jinx saw something in Raven that she saw in herself. And that changed everything.

()()()()()()()

Raven was sitting by the fire immersed in thought. She was leaning back against an old log with a small frown on her face as she studied the fire as if it would offer an answer to her. Everyone left her alone, it was like she fell into the background, but at the same time everything would be different without her there. She would talk occasionally to someone, smile, offer a joke, but there was something about her that just kept everyone in place.

He guessed that was why she was the Captain. He noticed that when she moved to much her face would pale and she would wince. He wondered what type of wound she had received to cause her to look so weak, and Raven was anything but weak. She now she looked like a bloody wreck but he even now he wouldn't want to fight her. She had several yellowing bruises, the most disturbing were the ones around her neck, and cuts laced up and down her arms. But those weren't enough to bother her. She must have damage somewhere where he couldn't see.

He found himself staring at her, and felt himself blush when she caught him staring back. Her eyes flickered with emotions for a split second before she waved him over. No one noticed as he strode across camp to sit next to her by the fire. The camp was quiet but still the thieves were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't seem to notice him. It didn't bother him too much, he was very out of place here, but for some reason Raven seemed to fit just fine.

She didn't say a word to him; she just continued to stare into the fire, her eyebrows furrowed together like she was trying to solve a difficult problem.

"Here," he said breaking the silence and pulled out a root from his pocket. He had looked for some herbs around the bushes and was lucky to find this in the process. It might help her feel better.

Raven's eyes lit up as she studied the root he offered. She looked bemused.

"Unless you want me to die I'm not going to take that root like that," she said in that dry tone she had a habit of using. It was a habit to get her not to use that tone.

Still he felt mortified as he looked back down at what he thought would help alleviate her pain.

"I thought this would help," he said quietly.

"It needs a counter root. That one by itself is just poison because of its potency. I could grind it up and put a little in some water though that might help draw out some of it just enough to help…" she said trailing off thoughtfully as she reached out and took the root from his hand to study it.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything else. He was just so glad she was alive. He searched for a flat stone and helped her grind the root when her pain was too strong. He found a flask and helped her sprinkle the ground wet root into her drink. He watched nervously as she took a long daunt from her drink.

"Where were you hurt?" he found himself asking as she coughed and sputtered up some of the drink.

"I broke my sternum it feels like. I need to set it, or try somehow… but we've have to ride on. It'll be impossible. I'm hoping it just…" she sighed.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked feeling rather helpless as she struggled to sit up more to look at him.

"I think you've done enough," she said icily. The implications of her words and the way she said it was enough to make anyone rational shut up or at least think twice about continuing to talk to her. He couldn't bring himself to leave though. He had missed her so much.

"I haven't done anything," he defended. Raven huffed obviously annoyed. "Look Rae, the only reason-"

"I have told you not to call me Rae," she snapped, but her face fell slightly and a small smile graced her lips. This did feel so familiar, this bickering, it felt like old times. He found his own smile graced his face to answer hers.

"You secretly like it," he pushed. She scoffed and wobbled slightly as she attempted to lean forward and push his arm. He caught her as she started to fall sideways. He sat next to her letting her use his body as for support.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked feeling his worry for her take over. He ignored how right it felt with her practically curled up into his side. He ignored how much he just wanted to wrap his arms around her just like that stupid thief had done. He ignored all of it. His first concern was her. He still considered her his best friend.

"I feel a little sleepy. Probably drank a little too much," she said after a moment of his nervous watching.

"Then I should let you get to sleep," he said. He restrained his burning curiosity. He held back the thousands of questions he wanted to ask her. He wanted to know what happened. He knew the basics though and if that was all Raven thought he was deemed fit to know for now he would have to agree. She was his leader after all.

"Thanks Richard," she said sleepily as she let her head tilt back against the log she was resting on.

"Goodnight Rae," he answered quietly. He smiled to himself as she didn't protest the use of her shortened name.

()()()()()()()()()

The camp was quiet. The fire let out an occasional crackle as it died down and licked the bottom of the logs with its dying flames. Patches of melting ice fell from the trees causing a constant dripping noise to be heard. The crickets chirped in the warmer weather, quietly to themselves as if they were scared that winter would come back and rear its ugly head. A horse nickered, and another swished its tail impatiently. The moon was nearly gone, a small sliver in the sky, and thousands of tiny stars dotted the black night. Their feeble light casted just enough light to see the dark figures sleeping around the fire.

He couldn't sleep like this. He couldn't sleep alone, not when he knew that Raven and that stupid boy had a heart filled conversation by the fire and shared meaningful glances. He couldn't sleep, not when he had seen her smile being drawn out from that stupid cocky kid. He fidgeted, and turned in his makeshift bed to look at the figure furthest from the fire.

Raven. Why was she avoiding him? Since their first ride together she hadn't said a single word to him. Not that he was worried… okay he was worried. No he wasn't worried he was just curious as to why she wasn't talking to him and yet she talked to that bozo. Did he go too far the other day? Did making such a claim on her scare her away from him? He hadn't said in so many words that she was his. Raven seemed like the type of girl that wouldn't take to possession very well.

He growled and rolled back over so that he faced a tree. He didn't even know her all that well. She was still practically a stranger. They hadn't had deep or meaningful conversations, he didn't know every single detail of her life, yet he still felt this pull to her. He was like a moth to the flame. He would do anything for her. And why? Because he was in love with her? That seemed a bit far-fetched. It felt like these emotions were forced, or maybe he thought they were forced because he had never felt this way about anyone.

Maybe it was because her words still haunted him. _"I don't love you."_

It was a challenge. He had to get her to admit it. He was a thief still, even if he had been inactive for such a long time. He wanted to steal those words from her. He wanted those words all for himself. He wanted to hear her say she loved him and no one else.

He was just a selfish bastard.

He groaned as he rolled over and noticed the shape by the fire had moved. Raven had moved. His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he shot up and looked around wildly for her. He saw movement by the horses and immediately strode over there. For one heart breaking moment he thought she was going to try and mount a horse and ride off. Instead she sat down roughly on the ground and mumbled out something.

The blonde and the armor guy were tied back to back next to the horses. The blonde was sleeping. Her head rolled back on Malchior's shoulder, her mouth hung open and a thing of drool spilled from her mouth.

"I honestly did love you at one point my dark little bird," Malchior purred. He felt his blood start to boil as he crept closer. He stuck to the shadows near the tree line, getting as close as possible without making a sound.

"You sure proved it," Raven scoffed not falling for the man's words. He felt himself smile, that was his girl. She could handle this jerk.

"Are you lonely Raven? Are those two males not enough for you? Do you need someone to satisfy you? If you untie me I can hel-"

"I don't need anyone," Raven snapped. Her voice broke above a whisper for a split second and she glanced back at the camp worriedly. "As a former member of the Monks I wanted to ask you a question," she said after a moment. Her face was trained to the ground and her voice was so quiet he barely caught it. He found himself inching forward. "And if you won't answer as a Monk then answer me as a fellow Azarthean."

"Anything for you Raven," Malchior seethed his voice dripping in sarcasm.

Raven ignored him and took a deep breath.

"I need to figure out how to break a curse. I have reason to believe that someone else besides us has survived and for whatever reason they placed a curse on … X," she said using his alias.

"Why would they do that? He doesn't seem important."

"He remembers he is a thief. He remembers his friends. He doesn't remember leading a rebellion against the crown."

"And you're curious as to why he would lead a rebellion against Tamera?"

"It can't be for the same reasons your _master_ is," she implied her voice biting even in the whisper form. "But that is not all," she continued. "He says he was supposed to fall in love to break the curse. That the girl was supposed to fall in love with him too…"

"Maybe it didn't have to be the same girl. Maybe he fell in love and another girl loves him?" Malchior suggested.

"I think the spell was specific about it being the same girl," Raven assured. "But it seems so random. I don't understand…"

"Maybe you just love him back," the man said in a bored tone. If his hands hadn't been tied up Jason was sure he would have been studying his finger nails in a rude fashion.

"That doesn't explain his memory loss, or why he has the Mirror of Souls in his possession," Raven snapped. "And his friends were cursed too and they all seem to be having similar memory blocks. It just doesn't make sense."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I was involved at some level and I wouldn't give you a straight answer?"

Raven smirked.

"I expected as much. It just helps me get a better picture of Slade," she answered. Malchior glared at her, his mouth opened and then snapped shut in an audible snap. They both sat there for a long time, both glaring at the other, both studying one another. "Did you ever think that maybe I was asking questions I already knew the answer to?" she shot back still smiling.

"Yet I wonder how much you know," the man said.

"Enough to know that there is something bigger here than just Slade trying to steal the crown," she whispered back. Her eyes narrowed as Terra coughed slightly and rolled her head over to Malchior's other shoulder.

"It might be… what do you remember?" Malchior asked. His voice hinting at the first sign of emotion besides sarcasm.

"I don't think I can trust all my memories," Raven said quietly after a moment. They both fell into silence. The crickets chirping loudly around them, and Jason was scared that even his breathing would alert the other two to his presence.

"You've gotten better at acting Raven," he finally said and bowed his head and shut his eyes.

"It tends to happen when you're surrounded by liars," she said quietly.

"Touché," Malchior mumbled not opening his eyes.

Jason had just enough time to quickly retreat into the trees to avoid being seen by Raven as she left without another word to Malchior. She slipped back into her spot by the fire and rolled over facing away from him.

He stumbled back into his bed. His thoughts swirling rapidly in his mind.

Memory loss, his curse, a Mirror of Souls? How did this all tie in together? Raven seemed to have an answer and her answer was Slade. For some reason he just didn't think that was right. There was something more to this. Whatever it was they weren't ready. They were walking into a pitch black cave without a torch. They just had to hope the cave didn't have any pitfalls.

()()()()()()()

Raven took a deep breath and took a large bite out of her bread. She chewed the morsel slowly, saving the dull flavor, before swallowing. She continued this process until the bread vanished.

"Morning Rae," Richard said cheerfully sitting down beside her with his own slice of bread.

"I told you not to call me that," she grumbled. The night before she had done a lot of catching up with him and it felt like old times, they had joked and talked about things within the guard, it felt like back before she had told them they could no longer be friends. It felt good to have a familiar stable relationship again.

"If I didn't shorten your name, who else would?"

"I would," Jason said picking the seat to her left so that she was wedged in between the two boys. He wasn't wearing his mask today and she noticed that Richard was taking in every single feature he had. She sent him a questioning look but he shrugged. Whatever, he could do what he wanted but she found it rather odd that he had been so protective of his identity yesterday and today he didn't care.

She felt a head ache starting up and she hadn't even been awake for an hour.

"Before you two start bickering like an old married couple I suggest you eat. We'll catch up to the rest of the guard today hopefully. And if nothing has happened yet then we need to make it to the castle by tonight. So eat up you'll need your strength," she said ducking out and back towards the mule that was carrying a load of supplies.

She grabbed some fruits that looked like they were about to go bad if no one ate them, and dug around until she found another slice of bread. She quickly devoured the food and looked around at the campsite. Karen and Roy were talking in low whispers, Garth and Gizmo were both eating quietly, (she let her eyes skip over Jason and Richard) but Jinx was nowhere to be seen. With her new found friendship she left like she could trust the girl and would ride double with her today again if that was possible. She would feel less embarrassed to ask her to help her up the horse than anyone else at the moment for some unexplained reason.

She was about to go find Jinx and ask her if she could help her mount up when she felt something warm grasp her hand and pull her away from the rest of camp. Around a tree, and away from the horses, just out of ear shot from everyone else. She knew who it was the moment she felt his hand around her own.

"I led a rebellion?" Jason asked. Raven felt herself sigh. Of course she should have known that her conversation was prone to being overheard but she had to gage Malchior's reaction. She had to hear what he would say. It would was enough to confirm her suspicions.

"No," she answered calmly.

"What do you mean 'No'? What were you talking about last night then with –"

"You know it's rather rude to eavesdrop on people," Raven growled interrupting him.

"You know it's rude to interrupt people?" he shot back before continuing, "Eavesdropping is one of my specialties. Get used to it. As long as I'm around you can't just lock yourself up and not explain anything to anyone. You're going to have to open up and trust me," he growled back pulling her body closer to his so that his breath brushed her face. She felt her face light up in a blush. An awkward silence hung between them.

"Well?"

"I will… just not right now," Raven said pulling out of his grasp and nervously looking over her shoulder.

Jason snorted as he looked over Raven's shoulder to see the reason for her unease as his eyes rested on Richard ducking back around a tree.

"Afraid your boyfriend will see us?" he teased leaning in closer to her. His face dangerously close to hers again.

"He's not my boyfriend… I just… not when everyone can … see," she stammered her face reddening as she tried to pull herself away again.

"No one can see but him and if he's not your boyfriend no problem," Jason said easily leaning in to press his lips against hers.

She didn't respond. She remained frozen the entire time but he didn't care. He knew from the rise of color on her face that he had gotten to her. He smirked.

"You're riding with me today," he told her firmly. "And you're going to tell me about all your little speculations."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I know some of you are viewing this build up as filler chapters but... I promise they aren't. They hold some importance. Looks like my story is going to be a few chapters over 20 too by the way everyone. So much for just three more whenever that was hahahaha... Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I was looking at the stats on this story the other day and I noticed that a lot of you got the last chapter but the one before it was surprisingly low... . I would recommend going back to read it! (Chapter 17)! Even if you hate it I think it holds some importance with the direction of the story. Now to my reviewers ~

**sisteroffive16- **Thanks! I was a bit torn on how much I should write on that... Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**jabigaeltan - *blushes* **I literally did with that review. Thanks! I think I could always use room for improvement though. I'm still pretty new to writing. I still haven't used that idea with Jinx yet. I think that is going to be in later chapters. Still I had to hint at her developing feelings for Raven as a friend first :p.

**Ten-Faced - **I hope you didn't burst into flames before this chapter was posted! I would love to hear feedback on this one.

**Glitter Rose - **Ah sorry if this one is slow as well. It'll pick up soon. Like I said I like building conversation just so there is something tangible there.

**half-demon24- **Action is coming you are right about that. :p. I think the next chapter is going to confuse everyone so I'm really taking my time writing it out and explaining it clearly.

**Lust for Life** - :p

**TheMaskedShuppeteer- **Bahahaha I love your reviews they always make me smile. It's funny to think about how I honestly started this story with your urging xD. I'm glad to know that you are still enjoying it.

**amethyst-dreams27- **you are correct. She's not that type of girl, but it hasn't really been said out loud yet... we'll see when that happens ;p mwahahahahaha!


	20. Insanity

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty: Insanity**

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He hated that stupid thief. Red X, whoever he was, was a bad guy. For some reason his memory of the thief seemed fogging. He knew that name, he knew it had something to do with Kori, and that worried him. Raven shouldn't be having relations with a man who might harm the girl she was sworn to protect. What kind of man hid his face one day and then openly flaunted it the next? Especially after he admitted to loving the girl Red X was currently spending a lot of time flirting with.

The rational side of him was screaming at him to strain his memory, to try and remember something anything about this man. That's what the rational side of him was saying. The other half of him wanted to tear the man limb from limb without thinking about it, as Red X's filthy hands held Raven in place as the small group rode on. He hated how flustered Raven looked, how her face was torn between smiling constantly and blackening in anger. How come she showed so much emotion for this man when he had to work so hard just to break the monotone in her voice? What had this man done to win over her trust so fully?

"You've got it bad," the bald kid of the group said pulling up his mule next to his horse. The kid's nasally voice was enough to cause him to glare down at him. That and what he said.

"I don't have it bad," he answered in a cool tone.

"You can't keep your eyes off of her," Gizmo laughed teasing.

Richard felt his back stiffen as he looked down at the kid practically growling. He pushed his horse forward ignoring the kid's haunting laugh that followed him.

()()()()()()()

"Are you insane?" Jason whispered into her ear. Raven frowned to turn slightly to look back at him.

"Do you not believe me?"

Her voice sounded hurt and his thought process cracked. He took a deep breath before slowly pulling the horse back further from the group.

"I believe bits and pieces of it," he admitted.

"What do you believe?" she asked.

"That I'm under a far more complex curse than that of being trapped as a beast, that memory altering was involved and that the entire country, save a few have had their memories altered," he said.

If Raven was shocked it didn't show. She merely rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh.

"You didn't listen to all of what I said," she said tersely.

"I summarized, babe. It's what I do," he answered. There was a moment of silence before Raven sighed again. Her clear discontentment with him obviously not expressed enough in her first sigh.

"So you believe all of my farfetched theory but you don't believe that you're being forced to love me?"

"I think those feelings are my own," he admitted his face completely serious. His eyes burned into hers trying to convey his emotions.

"You can't be positive though," she said after a moment.

"It just doesn't make any sense. Why would someone force me to fall in love with you?" he snapped his patience wearing thin. Why couldn't she just accept that he might actually being feeling all this on his own? Oh right that stupid spell, but even with that the spell didn't force him to fall in love with her. "No offense but I don't think you are that big of a pawn in this game this country is playing and I can't be that important either."

"Funny I thought she was the Queen and you the loyal knight," Malchior said interrupting them with a sharp remark. The horse he and Terra were tied too had trailed back and it was walking a few measly paces ahead of them. He could feel Raven bristling as the man with white hair leered at them. Terra was looking down, a constant torrent of tears streaming down her face in her waking hours. He had taken to ignoring her.

"That still doesn't make any sense as to how someone could force my emotions," he snapped at the man. Raven placed a hand on his chest and he fell silent despite the fact that he had several choice words he wanted to use.

"Careful," she breathed under her breath so just he could hear.

Malchior watched the exchange with bemused eyes.

"I wonder how Slade will take to seeing his two 'strongest' being captured by the Queen," Raven snapped going along with Malchior's parallel.

"A bishop and a rook have their worth even in defeat madam, as do all the pieces in chess," Malchior's voice trailed off mysteriously.

"OY!" Roy said turning around from the group. He yanked the lead of the horse that Malchior and Terra were riding and forced the horse to catch up to the rest of the group. Raven let out an audible sigh of relief.

"This is real," he said after a moment turning the conversation back where it was. He wasn't about to let her ignore this. He grabbed her hand and forced it to his chest. He wanted her to feel the rapid beating of his heart. He felt himself lean into her touch as her hand rested lightly on his hot skin.

"Would you stop changing the subject?" she growled she sounded irritated. "I need to think," she muttered mostly to herself. Something was going on between her and Malchior. It was like a silent battle of wills only it wasn't really silent. It was more of a roundabout way of picking at each other's brains, trying to figure out the other one before time was up.

"Think about us then," he whispered almost desperately. He shivered. Was this really what he had become, so desperate to get attention from this girl that he had to practically beg her to notice him? Maybe she was right, maybe there was something more than just his feelings. It was still his feelings though, that he couldn't deny or find any proof otherwise. He found her simply intoxicating.

"Jason," she whispered quietly. The way she said his name said it all. She knew what he was thinking, she knew what he was feeling, and she knew she could do nothing to help him sort out his thoughts. She turned to face him, her eyes filled with liquid that refused to fall from her eyes. "Listen to me. Until we defeat Slade you can't trust your emotions. You have to do what you think is right. Listen to your every fiber in your being. You can't just listen to your heart or your mind. You have to use everything. You have to get that balance… do you understand?"

He nodded feeling weak. She had just denied him again, in a way it was denial. She refused to accept his emotions and he wondered if she even had thought about what she was feeling. Maybe she didn't really love him. Maybe this was the result of another curse. It would have to be a curse, to love someone and have them brush you off like nothing.

"I want you to find memories of before you were cursed. I want you to stay focused on those memories," Raven's soft voice broke his thoughts.

"I don't have anything worthy to remember from then," he said weakly.

"Remember when I ran away?" she said quietly. He wondered briefly why they were whispering but then he noticed that Richard's gaze was fixed on them and knew she wanted to keep this just between them.

"When I asked you to skin me and bring my fur to my mother?" he breathed out.

"Why did you ask that of me? Is there something between your mother and yourself?"

"I…"

He paused. Originally he thought he had asked her to get some type of rise out of her, but now that didn't make sense. Why did he ask her? It had all felt so natural then like nothing was wrong, but now it made no sense.

"I felt panicked. I felt like I was going to die because I was failing the curse. I thought I wasn't going to fall in love with you and vice versa," he answered truthfully after mulling it over for a long moment.

"And your mother?"

"She…" he struggled to remember his mother. Why was it the more he thought of his past the hazier things seemed to become? It was like a thick fog laid on top of his memories and someone had attempted to draw over them, but he had never noticed until now. "She's dead. She never saw me become a thief. She would have been disappointed," he said quietly. Raven squeezed his chest bring his attention back to her hand.

"Think of her during this. She is going to be your rock, your foundation. No matter how painful it is she might be the only thing that is real to you in all of this," she whispered. Her face was a lot closer than he remembered. He sat stunned as Raven's lips brushed up against his in a chaste kiss.

"That was real," he whispered, his voice cracked. She looked like she had been about to protest. The shock on her face was evident. She had just kissed him on her own. There was something there and she couldn't deny it anymore to him. She felt something even if it was a small something. She didn't resist as he leaned down and hungrily stole another kiss from her.

"And so was that," Raven agreed breathlessly.

"OY! You two back there! Do I need to dump a bucket of water on the two of you? I said I see smoke on the horizon," Roy called back, his voice laced with irritation.

"Kori," Raven breathed out. She turned back around, her back stiffening as she urged the horse on to catch up with the rest of the group. He found his hands tightening on her hips and his chin resting in the crook of her shoulder.

His mother was painful to think about, but it was real. His kisses with Raven and that flood of emotion, there was no way that they weren't his own. It was all he had to hold on to. Those two things had to be real.

()()()()()()()()

"Everything is set. Raven will be meeting up with the Princess soon," a man said evenly. He kneeled on the ground, his face bowed and hidden from view as he addressed a man sitting behind the desk before him. They were in a tent a few miles north of the Princess. The noise of troops outside caused a steady hum to rumble through the air, and the excitement of battle seemed to crawl throughout the camp ground. He felt it himself. He felt himself thirsting for blood, to see it stain his hands and smell the metallic scent. He fidgeted on the ground waiting for the man sitting in his seat to address him finally so he could go prepare.

"I felt a flex in the spell," the other man said in a bored tone. He felt himself wince. "You know there is only one way for that to happen," the man continued.

He didn't need to say it. He knew why he had felt a flex there was only one way. It was self-awareness that someone was under a spell. In the near 10 years this spell had been in place only a few flexes had been felt and those people were taken care of. Still he found himself mildly annoyed that his counterpart thought he was too stupid to realize this and had to bring it up again. His first statement would have been plenty for him to know the cause.

"It seems our little Raven takes after her father," he told the man hoping that his voice came off even with a bored tone to mimic the other man's. "She's too bright to be fooled by such a spell."

"Perhaps," the other man said. There was a terrible squealing noise as the man stood up. His face was hidden behind the cloak he wore but his white hair tumbled out of its protection. Even without seeing the man's face though the other could feel his anger.

"I think your little pet got out of hand Slade. I think you might have to go clean up," the standing man said.

"Clean up?"

"Don't play dumb. Go kill off your apprentices. They gave away too much information to Raven to be useful now," the man barked. His tone only rose slightly but Slade winced as if he had yelled at him.

"I'll set out now then… Master," he said standing from his kneeling position and bowing out.

The other man laughed at the forced term 'Master' but Slade ignored it as he hurriedly exited the tent, letting the flap behind him swing dangerously. His blood was boiling. His apprentices, the two people he had taken under his wing. The only two people in the world that he had thought could do this mission without fail. Those stupid bastards had gone and caused him trouble. How was he supposed to smooth talk his way into getting what he wanted if he couldn't hold up his end of the deal? He felt himself seething as he found a horse and headed off for the direction of the woods.

His mind was already racing to form a plan. A new plan, and new plans required new rules.

()()()()()()()()

"Kor-" she wheezed her chest constricting painfully and causing hot tears to spill out of her eyes. She attempted in vain to push off her attacker but failed miserably.

"Princess!" Richard yelled forcefully pulling her from Kori's tight hug. "Raven has a broken bone in the middle of her chest. You have to be gentle," he scolded. Raven smiled weakly thankful that someone knew about her broken bone and had saved her from the torment that was Kori.

She wheezed again, desperately trying to suck in air that had abandoned her, and winced with every breath. She cursed the hot tears that were still rolling down her cheeks. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to see her as _weak_, especially since that embarrassing ordeal had played out in front of the entire guard. A few more seconds of desperate gasping and Raven managed to pull herself upright. She nimbly jumped up on a higher flat piece of ground and stared at the large group before her. Ignoring the still throbbing wound she contemplated on what she wanted to say. Richard was still scolding the Princess (who looked close to tears) when Raven coughed and brought everyone's attention back to her.

"I have several things I need to go over with all of you," she told her men. She noticed that most of them had big goofy smiles on their faces as they studied her. If anything it almost brought a smile on her face as well. She had done well, she had defeated two enemies, her moral should be just as high as theirs. But she couldn't afford to relax and neither could they. They had to prepare. They had to get ready. They had to be ready for anything. She straightened herself and kept her face blank of all emotion. She had to be serious, and she had to lead them.

"First. We are temporarily accepting the aid of these … bandits," she settled on gesturing to Jason and friends to her left. She wasn't sure what else to refer to them as. "I trust them to fight alongside us. Second… we may be fighting soon," she paused and let her words sink in for everyone. The faces around her went from smiles and faded into a grim mood. "Our goal is to get to the castle before tomorrow's nightfall. If not then we will have a small war on our hands. Our King's replacement is to be named within a fortnight and Kori must be present."

Kori and Victor shared a mutual look of shock with each other before they returned their attention on Raven. Raven ignored their small exchange, there was nothing to be shocked about was there? This should all be old news to them.

"Thirdly. Terra here is a traitor," she hissed making sure to stress the words and glare at Garfield, "She conspired with Malchior to capture our Princess. I don't want to see anyone talking to her or our Ex-Captain. Is that clear?" She barked.

There was a stern reply yes, but Raven noticed that Kori still looked doubtful. She groaned as she hopped down from her makeshift platform and headed over to her friend. With that informal dismal everyone set about camp hurrying to set off to make up for lost ground. They only had a few hours of daylight left and they needed to make the most of it.

"Friend Raven," Kori said as Raven strode forward. Raven bowed her head in acknowledgement and Kori gestured to the tent behind her.

"I do not believe that Frie- Terra is capable of such an act," Kori started immediately.

"So you'd rather disregard what I have said what Victor has said and Garfield?" Raven snapped losing her patience.

"That is not what I meant. I just don't understand what motive could have possibly possessed-"

"She held a grudge against me Kori, not you. I don't think she thought of her actions all the way," Raven interrupted her face falling with her friends as they both turned to study the sniffling girl. "Don't talk to her. Please Kori? It won't end well for either of you," she added.

Kori sniffed once before nodding and turning away from her.

Her friends were talking with her brother and Garfield. She caught Roy's eye out of the group and motioned him over.

"I would hate to ask for favors but…" she trailed off waiting for his refusal but he just smiled goofily at her.

"What? Don't want to be in debt to a bunch of thieves?" he teased winking at her. She couldn't tell you why the blush on her face rose. She looked at the ground pointedly.

"I'm already in your debt," she muttered to herself but she knew Roy heard as his smile widened. She shouldn't be all bashful and be blushing and staring at the ground! She raised her eyes to meet his fully and put on her commanding tone. Not as commanding but more asking him in a stern tone.

"Keep an eye on the Princess for me. Well… not on her but make sure she and Terra don't have any contact."

"A bit controlling isn't it?" he asked.

"I just don't want Terra to manipulate Kori anymore until she is safely behind bars and tried as a traitor. Kori can forgive her later but not now. Not when we are on the road and her safety is at risk," she explained. She wasn't sure why she defended her order. She never defended her orders but there was always something about Roy that made it seem wrong to order him around. She didn't like how Jason had constantly done so when he was a Harp, it just seemed so wrong for a free spirit like him to be treated that way.

"Sure no problem, Rae," he said.

She didn't even protest him calling her Rae! She just let him walk off and be on his merry way with the rest of the group. She sighed. She was starting to view her new friends as a hazard to her reputation as a leader.

She used to be the solid, rigid, unfeeling Captain of the guard. The only people that really got to see her for who she really was, was Kori, Victor, Garfield, and Richard. Now she had a whole new circle of people and she found herself even relaxing in front of her men. She still wasn't sure what to make out of it, or what she would have to do in the future. Would she have to arrest the lot of them for their past crimes?

A feeling of dread filled her stomach as she watched them all laugh and joke with each other. Would she be able to do that to them? Would she have to do it? She wasn't sure if she had the answers to those questions.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hey guys! Sorry about the delay! I was visiting family... whew. They can take a lot out of you. Anyways I have finals coming up and then I'm taking a week long summer trip right after school. Not saying I won't post after this chapter for a few weeks but it is more than likely... Ever time I say that though I magically have all this free time and go on a writing binge... xD. So we'll see. Just preparing you guys in case I am gone for a little bit. Thanks to all you readers and reviewers! Now to address you all~

**jabigaeltan- **I'm actually attempting to tone Richard down and make him more in character. He is afterall her best friend :p. Hopefully he'll be more likable soon.

**half-demon24 - **Glad I started off your spring break well! :). It does seem to be leading up to that doesn't it... hmmm ;)

**Glitter Rose -** I think this chapter even explained some things that I left unexplained for a while. Hopefully I'm just doing my job correctly and you're out of the loop for now :p. Keep up the critques! I love it! It helps me see smaller mistakes so I can improve.

**DemolitionLvr- **Glad you are enjoying this story so far. I have been striving to mix things up for you readers :p

**Ten-Faced - **Get a refill! HURRY! xD. I don't want a loyal reader to disappear when I'm forced to take a break

**may yuki - **I understand! I used to read fanfiction at school all the time... and then the school caught on to me and blocked the site xD. There may very well be a darker side to this story. I don't want to spoil anything though so I'm going to keep quiet :x. I don't want to disappoint if there is a happy, nonviolent ending either though. It really could go either way hahaha.

**TheMaskedShuppeteer- **You could say it 100 times and I'd never tire of it. :D. I understand! Look at the crazy lifestyle I've been living lately... I'm even too lazy to check some "things" mwahahahahahaha inside joke!


	21. Southbound

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Southbound **

The night air was cool and rustled the trees. The air seemed to tense the further into the woods the party went. An occasional cough would ring out or a conversation in a hushed tone, but it would die out just as quickly as it came. Garfield shivered. This was a familiar feeling, the sense of dread seemed to well out in the darkness and wrap around the entire party. Raven was hunched over her horse, her cheek resting against it as the thief led her horse forward in the front. For once he was glad Raven was riding on her own horse alone since the first time he had found her, it was much better than seeing her wrapped up in that thief's arms. Not that it bothered him in a romantic way he just didn't like seeing a male touch his sister that way. It wasn't natural. He didn't have to look behind him to know that was the rest of the party had a similar situation, one person leading the other trying to rest as they trudged on.

The thief stopped suddenly and Garfield had just barely enough time to pull up his horse as well. He heard the pink hair girl he was leading curse loudly when she almost stumbled out of her seat.

"What is it?" he hissed. He heard the others stir and stop, horses snorted in irritation.

The thief didn't answer out loud he just shook his head and studied the dark path before them all with interest.

"Nothing," he said after a moment and pushed his horse forward.

For a while nothing of interest happened and his uneasiness settled back down. It was right when the entrance to the clearance of the forest could be seen when the feeling of dread welled up inside him. The thief let out a low hiss and Raven immediately perked up and both pulled their horses to a stop.

Barely discernible in the entrance was what looked like a very tall man, but all that could be made out was his silhouette.

"Let's not play this cat and mouse game," the thief barked out. Raven drew her sword and he found himself doing the same as well. Half the guard that was awake followed suit and woke their partners. The hairs on his neck rose as Malchior started to laugh and Terra started to wail, filling the silent forest with their odd symphony.

There was a sharp twang an awful gasping noise and then the silhouette disappeared. It took him a moment to piece it all together until Terra let out a long low moan. He turned to look and saw Malchior slumped in his seat.

"Malchior?" Raven called out. Her voice was laced with worry as she pushed her horse through the crowded party to make her way to the slumped man. He couldn't be sure but in the moonlight she looked pale and her hands shook as she reached out to touch him.

"He's dead," she announced to the others. Her voice strained as she pulled an arrow out of the side of his neck. Terra was shaking but otherwise she remained unharmed. Raven's violent eyes fell on him, pleading for something. He felt his stomach tightened, that look said it all.

"Set up camp," Richard ordered loudly from beside him. "We'll be able to defend the Princess better if we can set up a perimeter. We can't go out in the open until we can see, there might be an ambush," Richard barked out. Immediately the others fell into place and began shuffling to follow his orders.

"Raven," Garfield said quietly as he dismounted. He walked up to her slowly. Her hand was still curled around Malchior's arm searching for a pulse that wasn't there. Her eyes were shut and her head was tilted back as she let out a long slow breath. As if she was asking the sky for an answer.

"I'll help her. You untie Terra from him," Richard said dismounting next to him. He shot the older man a resentful look but silently set about his task. He strained his eyes as he fumbled with the knots that bound Terra to the dead man. For once the blonde's constant tears stopped as she stared blankly at him in shock. It left him open to eavesdrop on the conversation next to him with ease.

"You always know when to take charge. You always can handle things when I can't… how do you do it?" she asked quietly. He had never heard her sound so weak in his life, it scarred him.

"You get me through it," Richard answered after a moment. "You do so much when I think you can't handle it so I try to return the favor. We keep each other going," he smiled sheepishly before he added; "I don't want to see you…" he trailed off struggling to find the right words.

"Weak?" she hissed.

"No, I don't want to see you hurt. I'd rather put my own neck on the line then see you get hurt," Richard whispered, but he was close enough to still hear it. The moon didn't hide her blush. Richard held out his hand to her offering to help her off her horse. She shook her head as she dismounted. He took a step closer his hands finding her hips almost automatically. She steadied herself with her hands on his chest as she let out a sharp breath. "Your ribs?" he asked but he already knew the answer to that. She just nodded.

It didn't escape his attention that tears were quickly falling from her eyes or how Richard looked like he had just been stabbed. The older boy pulled her into a light hug and he heard him release a deep breath as Raven's arms accepted his hug and returned it. That exchange seemed to fix something between them.

"I loved him," she half sobbed. Her voice straining as she battled for control. He felt his heart squeeze painful at the reminder of the betrayal. He looked blankly at Terra as he tugged off the last of her knots. He quickly pulled her from the horse. The girl didn't resist, her arms fell limply around him.

"Richard!" Someone called across the camp. He heard Richard curse under his breath and peeked around the horse to see him squeeze Raven closer to his chest.

"You go collect yourself Rae," he wiped the stream of tears from her face and kissed the top of her forehead. "Head to the middle of the group and just put your hood up. Don't wander near our boarders…" he trailed off.

"Thank you," she sobbed. She needed this moment. A moment to collect herself from a love lost no matter how long ago or what he had done that man had been her first love. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek as she followed his advice.

"Garfield?" Terra whispered quietly. He felt his heart drop in his chest as he looked at the young girl before him. The girl that had constantly rejected him, ridiculed him, and now betrayed him and the rest of the group just like Malchior had. He felt revulsion well up in his chest.

"What?" he snapped, holding her closer to loop a rope around her wrists. He couldn't trust her. She had hurt Raven, she had hurt his sister.

"I'm next," the girl whispered quietly. He felt a different type of revulsion well up in him with the realization of her words.

()()()()()()()()

"I know what you are doing," he snapped. He crossed his arms as he shot a look over his shoulder. Raven was still slumped over a log fending sleep as dry sobs racked her body.

"Standing guard? I thought everyone had to take turns," he said sarcastically but he refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Trying to soften up Raven so-"

"If I were you I wouldn't finish that accusation," he growled. If he still had fur it would have been bristling.

"Raven is my sister. I have her best intentions in mind," he said, there was a note of a superior attitude resting in his voice.

"I have her best intentions in mind too," he agreed keeping his own tone even.

"Really?"

"Why do you question it?"

"You haven't left her side since the moment she showed up with you and then the second Richard goes to comfort her you don't even look at her. Plus she called you a bandit," he snapped. "That doesn't exactly make me want to trust you."

"And?"

"Obviously there is something going on there," Victor growled.

"There is, but why should I have to tell you about it?"

"Because I'm her brother and so help me if you hurt her…"

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she'll be the one hurting me?" he snapped.

Silence lapped between them as the thief sighed and let his shoulders sag slightly.

"I saw her kiss that punk kid on the cheek. No big deal I know but I was still… bothered," he grumbled admitting it.

"I think that is normal," Victor said chuckling. "Jealousy is a normal thing when it comes to seeing that type of thing."

"Yeah but _I _don't get jealous. I don't do it."

Victor flat out starting roaring in laughter at the thief's expense and didn't stop until Jason stomped on his foot roughly.

"Oops, sorry. Thought I saw a roach on your foot," he hissed through clenched teeth while Victor glared at him.

"It's fine. That was my fake leg anyways," the darker man chuckled. "But you sound just like her," he managed to pull himself out of his laughter and give the thief a pat of sympathy. "I don't _do_ scared," he mimicked in a tone he hoped was close to Raven's.

Jason rolled his eyes and settled for staring off into the darkness. Fires were lit thirty feet from the edge of camp making it harder to see out into the dark but also harder for someone to sneak up on them. If they were going to wait it out until morning they might as well be as cautious as possible. It made him uneasy to know that whoever had killed Malchior had done it so easily and with one quick shot. Even Roy who was an expert archer said the shot was nearly impossible with such lighting. It was a planned shot, a shot that had meaning behind it. A shot with a threat, it screamed 'I have power. I wanted to kill this one insignificant person and I did.' He shivered. He was lucky that shot hadn't been meant for him, or for Raven, or even for the very person Raven was trying to protect.

"So?" Victor's voice broke him of his thoughts. He quirked his eye brow in response not bothering to pretend he had been listening. Victor had asked him a question while he had been zoning out.

"I asked what your intentions are," he said calmly staring down Jason in a way that really did remind him of an over protective brother or father.

"They aren't pure if that is what you want to know," he smirked and dodged as Victor swung his arm around to cuff him in the back of the head.

"You won't touch her," Victor snarled.

"I'm not going to harm her, or do anything to hurt you guys," he added while moving out of Victor's range. The man had rather long arms and it unnerved him how quick he could move with his size.

"Like that makes me feel better. You kidnaped her!" he snapped lunging for him. He succeeded in his tackle as they fell to the ground rolling.

"More like just held on to her for a little while. I gave her back," he winced as Victor's elbow dug into his ribs as they continued rolling.

"And she's different. Don't think it escapes me that she blushes around you. She stayed on her own will for a while didn't she?" the older man said continuing his rampage.

He didn't answer that. He was pretty sure Raven could have left whenever she wanted but he had sort of implied she had to stay forever. At least until he died. He wasn't sure if it still counted seeing as he was now human and probably wouldn't die for a while.

"At least she's happy," he offered weakly as they stopped rolling. Victor was on top of him glaring, his fist pulled back ready to deliver a punch. A flicker of emotion shot through his eyes as he studied the man under him.

"She isn't happy. Malchior just died, she was kidnapped for a while unsure if I was dead or not, and someone is out to kill her best friend."

"She can handle all that. We'll get Kori to the castle," he assured the other man. "As for Malchior dying I can't say I am not pleased but I'm not exactly celebrating…"

"And what about your kidnaping her?"

"I don't regret that," he answered steeling himself for the blow that was sure to come now. A sharp snap and he felt his head fly backwards as white lights popped up before his eyes. He hissed as he rolled his head back to face Victor, a large bruise forming on his jaw. He licked his lips tasting blood.

"Don't you ever think you can just take my sister away from us and I'll just be okay with it because she is happy," he snapped and rolled off him. He smiled and offered him a hand up. "And she isn't happy. Not yet at least," he added.

He didn't question the older brother on that. Raven had the potential to be happy, but not until this mess was sorted out.

"I'll make sure she gets there," he promised taking the man's hand and pulling himself up. He nodded grimly and then made his way back across camp to the other watch post.

There were four in all one for North, South, East, and West. He wondered if that conversation was really that important to Victor for him to abandon his post but the main threat was to the East and possibly West. To the East stood the entrance to the forest, wide gapping and foreboding. He and Victor were guarding North and South. He sighed and cast a look over his shoulder to study Raven's sleeping form. Her breathing rose and fell evenly but he knew better than that.

From his post she laid about 10 yards, more on the edge of camp than what Richard had recommended to her earlier. He had wanted her in Kori's tent with at least ten guards surrounding her but Raven had refused. She had even taken the first watch on the South side and he had traded off with her when he noticed how she slumped against her post.

He hadn't been able to talk or really look at her for several reasons. Past loves. He wasn't sure how to go about that subject with her, or how to comfort her. He hadn't had any past loves before. He had a few girls here and there but no one had ever caught his attention for long. In fact if he was going to be honest about this he was practically scared of love. He had refused for the longest time to open up his heart, he saw it as a weakness and then that curse. That curse had forced him to recognize an emotion he would have never confronted in his life.

But he just couldn't comprehend loving anyone else. It was strange enough being in love with one person but how could he possibly fall for another and forget about Raven. He didn't want to know what heartbreak was like. Maybe he wasn't scared of love but scared of heartbreak. He had seen the destroyed look in their eyes, like in his mother's after his father had died. He didn't ever want to go through that pain.

So he couldn't face Raven. He was sure her admittance of love for that ass hole that had practically killed her would hurt him. He suspected it, he knew everyone else knew, but the pain in Raven's eyes was something he did not want to see. He wasn't sure what to do, or how to make her feel better.

His conversation with Victor finally sunk in, and the meaning behind it. Her older brother had been asking him if he wanted to make her happy. He hadn't approached Raven either, but her brother seemed to know when to leave her alone or not. His confronting him had been an encouragement to go talk to Raven. To try and cheer her up because if she did love him back then he would be the one to pull her out of this slump.

Only that stupid kid Richard had acted. That stupid kid had received a kiss on the cheek from her, and knew what to do and say. Why didn't Victor back up that kid? Didn't he know him better?

He felt a frustrated growl escape him.

"Hey," Raven's voice said next to him.

He jumped slightly before turning to her. He smiled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Shouldn't you be in bed Sunshine?" he whispered. He didn't motion to send her back to her fake sleep though. Instead he pulled off his cloak and offered it to her. She stepped into it and didn't resist as his arms wrapped themselves around her. He pulled her closer enjoying her scent and her even breathing. His thoughts abandoning him and his inner turmoil from moments ago vanished.

"I couldn't sleep," she whispered back. She turned slightly so that she could eye him. He settled his head on her shoulder and stared out into the darkness, searching. "Besides you looked like you could use a bit of Sunshine," she teased.

He groaned. Hadn't he told her over and over again that she was not made for puns? Honestly he didn't mind he thought it was cute but he liked teasing her about it. They always were overly corny and cliché and very _un_Raven like.

"That was awful Rae," he teased back. She shrugged. Silence lapped up to meet them and Jason was reminded that this shouldn't be so comfortable or feel so right. Hadn't she just been mourning a past lover? Somehow it didn't feel so right to be holding her. He loosened his arms from around her.

"Think we'll have trouble in the morning?" he asked and faked stretching. He took a step back from her as Raven turned to face him.

There it was. That look of pain. Her eyes flashed with it for a moment before she pulled it back behind her mask.

"No, I don't think we will have trouble then because that is when we suspect it," she said quietly. Not quite a whisper but more of a defeated mumble. He felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. He wanted to wrap her back in his arms but he refrained.

"Or maybe because they think we will suspect it they will anyways," he felt awkward that his voice was a little peppy and strained. He felt himself harden at the thought of fighting.

"Then we better have our best fighters ready to go," she said calmly.

"So go to bed," he rolled his eyes.

"I'm too… battered up to be of use in a real fight right now. You go rest. I can't sleep anyways."

"I won't be able to sleep knowing that you are hurt," he whispered.

"You've slept fine when I first received these wounds," she waved him off back towards camp. He held his ground and stared her down.

"It wasn't flesh wounds I was talking about," he said training his eyes to the fire that rested thirty feet from him. He refused to meet her eyes. He refused to see the pain that was there. He couldn't handle it. He didn't want to handle it. But he had to face it one way or another.

"I'm fine now," she said. He jumped slightly as her warm hand wrapped around his chin and forced him to look at her. "See?" she said faking a watery smile. For a split second he wasn't sure what to do, but then he knew what he had to do. She was more important than his feelings. He chuckled.

"You don't always have to be strong. You don't have to pretend for me," he said still chuckling as he pulled her back into a hug. He could feel her relax into his chest as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I'm the captain," she said fiercely which greatly contradicted the hug she was giving him.

"That doesn't mean you don't have emotions," he said quietly tucking a strand of her hand behind her ear. She buried her face into his chest and he heard a dry sob escape her.

"I'm not supposed to let them get the better of me," her voice was muffled in his shirt.

"You aren't my captain Raven. You can show me emotions," he said quietly. He knew this was exactly why Victor had talked to him. It was exactly what Raven needed. She sobbed dryly into his chest again.

He spent the rest of the night holding her to his chest. He propped himself against a post and stared off into the darkness as Raven cried. She never talked about it, she just cried. Eventually she cried herself to sleep.

He adjusted his cloak on her so it covered him partly and tucked it in around her sides so she wouldn't get cold. He kissed her cheek as the sun rose in the distance.

"Good morning Sunshine," he whispered in her ear. He was surprised when Raven grinned up at him.


	22. Jinx's Memories

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Jinx's Memories**

"_Are you lost?" he asked. His sparkling blue eyes peered down at her with worry. He extended his hand down to her; she stared at him dumbly for a moment before taking his hand and pulling herself up. She brushed the dirt from her clothes, and avoiding his eye contact as she nodded yes. He had dragged her into a part of town where she had no clue where she was, of course she was lost._

"_Why were they chasing you?"_

_In response she held out the gold chain she had stolen off a lady's wrist. The boy quirked his eye brow but a small grin graced his face. It was common knowledge that it was nearly impossible to steal from that old crotchety lady. She had a least a dozen guards around her at all times and paid the Royal Guards well under the table to check on her. She kept her prized possessions with her family's seal on it on her at all times, and the bracelet had been one of them. Needless to say she had nearly been cornered after successfully stealing the bracelet when this man had grabbed her and helped her shake off the guards. _

"_Why did you help me?" she challenged a natural fear overtaking her. People didn't just do things out of the kindness of their hearts. They did things to gain something. _

_The boy shrugged. "You looked like you were in trouble," he said._

"_But those were Royal Guards. You do know that right?"_

"_So?"_

"_So they might come after you now," she hissed. How could he be so oblivious to the trouble he could be in?_

"_They'd have to catch me first," he said winking. Only then did she notice that the gold chain that had been her grasp was now in his as he slipped it into his pocket. How did he manage that? She blinked as he waved over his shoulder obviously departing. How could she forget her basic rule? People don't do things out of kindness!_

"_OY! Just where do you think you are going with my bracelet?" she hissed rushing to keep up with him. _

"_What do you need it for? The nearest black market is several miles away and it has the family's seal on it. You will get caught the minute you try to sell it," he said teasing her. _

"_I'm training," she hissed. _

"_In what?"_

"_In stealing obviously," she growled and held out her hand for the bracelet. _

"_For who?"_

"_My master," she snapped. Instantly she cursed and glared at him as if he had just made her blurt out her deepest secret, but it was too late to take back the words now. _

"_So you are with that group…" he mused. He had stopped walking and was fending interest in one of the vendors that were selling goods. Somehow he had led her back into the center of town without her even noticing it. _

"_Just give me back the bracelet and I'll be on my merry way and you'll never have to see me again," she said. She stepped closer to him and reached out for his wrist to give it a sharp squeeze. _

"_You don't scare me darling and neither does your little cult," he teased. He pulled his arm out of her reach and grinned wickedly at her. _

"_Tell you what. I've been meaning to meet this 'Master' guy for a while now. I have some questions I want to ask him. If you can steal your bracelet back by tomorrow I'll leave you alone and you'll never see me again. If you can't get it back by then you help me get into this little group of yours. Sound good doll?"_

"_No it does not sound good," she hissed. She knew that she would be in trouble though. Her target had been that women's bracelet and if she failed to get it to them by tomorrow night a serious punishment would be in store for her. She furrowed her brows and waited for him to come up with another offer but none came. _

"_I can just tell them I stole it off you, prove I'm better, but we really don't want that do we?" he asked. His voice was hard and all the teasing in his tone disappeared. She knew what that implied. He seemed to know about them, about her group. He knew that she would be killed if that was the case. He seemed to not want that to happen. He seemed to care. That was a quality she had never encountered before. But then again he was blackmailing her. _

"_You should know better than to strike such a dangerous deal with strangers," she said after mulling it over for a moment longer. His wicked grin returned which really made his blue eyes dance with mirth as he extended his hand for her to shake. _

"_I know what I'm getting in to. The real question is, do you?"_

Jinx blinked. The sun was rising in the sky casting off the night. Orange hues colored the trees and birds called to one another with pleasant whistles. The ruminants of her dream disappearing for her mind. It seemed important to her, a memory she had forgotten. What group had she been a part of? Or was it merely a dream? A dream of her and Jason together in days when the world wasn't torn apart by war and being a thief was all that had mattered. She stretched feeling a few of her joints pop pleasantly. The only thing that was unpleasant was the rumble next to her.

"Wake up Garth," she growled smacking the snoring teen beside her. He opened his dark eyes looking lost for a full minute before he shook off the sleep.

"What was that for?" he growled.

"Your snoring was disturbing the peace," she huffed, pulling herself up. She sent a swift kick at Gizmo who, up until that point had been sleeping peacefully, howled at the contact.

"And his crying woke up this half of the kingdom," Garth grumbled.

"Well your snoring woke me up," she snapped.

"Like I can help it," he snapped back. He jumped up to his feet landing in a stance that just screamed come fight me. She smirked, proud that out of everyone in the group she was the first one to get under Garth's skin since they had been changed back. The stupid fish man was always so relaxed, it annoyed her. Why should he get a peaceful sleep while snoring and waking her up?

"Knock it off," Karen grumbled from her spot against a tree. Her eyes were trained on all of them with a bored look. Like she was just watching them because she had nothing better to do.

"Where's lover boy Bee?" Jinx sneered down at the other girl. Turning her attention from Garth to Karen.

"Off on Raven's orders," Karen responded, flexing her arm out in front of her to study her nails.

"Not watching that pretty little blonde again is he?" she jeered.

_Snap!_

Karen had closed the distance and knocked Jinx out with a quick blow to the head.

_It was cold. The stone floor collected so much cold that it seemed to rise off the floor and engulf everything within its reach. She stared at her hands which were caked in blood and mud. Her hearing wasn't quiet working. It was like she had just been blasted with something. There was a faint buzzing noise but that was all she could make out. There was a man pacing before her. He looked like he was talking to the man to her right. She turned slightly and caught her breath. _

_Jason looked like he had just been tortured. He might have been. It was all her fault. She shouldn't care but she did. He had saved her! He had saved her life and this was how she repaid him? By getting him caught? She felt a strangled cry escape her as the veil that had been blocking her hearing lifted suddenly. _

"…_You have no one. You are failure. You couldn't even finish off the girl who was practically begging to be kil-"_

"_NO! It's just my fault. Jason would have done it. I got in the way!" she howled interrupting the man in her panic. She threw herself in front of him and groveled on the ground. She couldn't let him hurt Jason. Not when he looked so close to death now. A life for a life. Hers for his. He had saved her once already. _

_Laughter bubbled around her but instead of feeling relief a feeling of dread overwhelmed her. _

"_Seems like you do have someone. She called you Jason, Red X."_

"_No," Jason protested weakly behind her. She could hear him wheezing and shuttered as his warm breath grazed her ear. "I don't have her." She felt revulsion as the smell of metallic blood reached her nose. _

"_Assassins don't have partners," he said and roughly pushed her behind him. The man studied him for a long moment. _

"_Well I can't exactly use you now can I?" the man grumbled as he raised his sword._

"_NO!" Jinx screamed. _

"NO!"

She panted sitting up. Garth's deep onyx eyes were peering down at her with worry. She shivered and wiped off her brow. She rubbed her sweat soaked hands on her pants as she looked around at her friends. Garth offered her a hand up which she gratefully accepted.

"Jason was right. Someone did mess with our memories," she said quietly. She felt the silence of her friends as memories came rushing back to her. "I remember," she whispered.

()()()()()()()()

"Raven," Jinx called out. The violet hair girl turned and looked at her friend with a puzzled expression.

"Jinx," she said evenly addressing her. She was testing how far she could stretch, and winced. She drew her sword and slowly went through movements that she knew could possibly be the difference between life and death for her.

"You said you were going to die the other day. Why did you say that?" Jinx snapped. Her voice sounded fierce as she drew her own sword and ran the blade along with Raven's.

"If we get into a battle I'll be targeted."

"Why?"

"I'm Captain of the Royal Guard for Kori. They have to get through me to get to her," she said sounding annoyed as she pulled her blade away. Jinx followed making sure the metal stayed in contact.

"No."

"No?"

"That isn't the reason why _Raven_," she said stressing on her name. She saw a flash of recognition in the other girl's eyes as she pulled her sword again once more.

"You remember?"

Jinx just nodded.

"Don't tell anyone," she half pleaded. Jinx slammed her sword into hers and knocked it out of her hand. Her breathing was hard as she chucked her sword to the ground.

"Please Jinx…" she shivered as she held her cloak closer to her body.

"Please what? You stupid selfish bi-"

"I know I know," Raven interrupted. "I deserve all those names but you have to understand. Let me explain what I can remember at least. Then you can make up your mind," she said wearily eyeing the rest of camp. She bent down wearily and grabbed their swords, handing Jinx hers with caution. She gestured a bit further away from the rest of the camp. When they were far enough away she started talking in a hushed voice.

"How much do you remember and what are you involved in?" Raven asked to start it off. Jinx glared at her annoyed that she had turned it away from herself already but she answered anyways.

"Slade," Jinx said as in answer. Both girls studied each other wearily.

"Are you still on our side?"

"I'm still here aren't I?" she snapped impatiently. Raven nodded absentmindedly starting out into the woods. "So Red X is his man too?"

"No," Jinx corrected. "I remember…"

"I used to be a part of this group and Slade was one of the many in charge. We used to do his dirty work when other missions weren't available for Jason to start gaining trust," she said straining her memories for information to give to Raven. "Jason was trying to infiltrate the system. He had some type of grudge against my Master…We were set out on a mission to kill Kori's sister since she was next in line for the throne, only she was to be married and no longer able to inherit the throne. She wasn't a threat anymore to Slade but he insisted she be knocked off... Jason refused to kill her…"

"And that didn't bode well with Slade?" Raven finished. Jinx nodded, her face paling as her memories seemed to overcome her.

"He never wanted to be an assassin. It was the last step to be a full apprentice for Slade and getting into the group…"

"Well that's a surprise. What was Jason before he became that?" Raven asked curious.

"He was a thief when I met him," Jinx said quietly and they fell into a silence staring at each other wearily. "Jason told me you told him about this theory of blocked memories and I believe it now, but what I can't remember is why _you_ were on Slade's list," she said after a minute.

"I can't remember either," Raven said quietly.

"Bullshit," Jinx snapped raising her voice. Raven glared at her as the pink haired girl bristled next to her.

"I don't remember everything. I'm bound tighter than everyone else," Raven growled frustrated. "I know I was brought here from Azarath, but I can barely remember any of my teachings with the monks or where I lived or who my friends were. I don't remember but I know I should," she hissed. "I remember everything after I was brought here, like I am not a threat after that but those memories are just teasing me."

"Teasing you?" Jinx asked.

"Victor, my brother. He can't remember a conversation he had with me about the Azarathian King. I know it was important. We were older when we discussed it. I was trying to ask why there was a war to begin with…" she said giving an example.

"Oh, the war!" Jinx half shouted as if mention of it brought back more memories. "Slade?" she offered in a quieter tone.

"Why though? And how? He isn't from Azarath so he would have no influence with the war… how would he be able to do such complex spells that are restricted to my people?"

"You don't use magic," Jinx stated bluntly.

Raven pointed to her chakras. "Sealed," she said feeling cold dread well up in her chest.

"Excuse me I have to go talk to the Princess," Raven said pushing past Jinx.

"I guess I'll keep quiet for now," Jinx mumbled to herself. "We'll continue this later," she called over her shoulder and she smiled to herself as Raven nodded solemnly.

()()()()()()()()

"A word if you would be so kind," Richard said grabbing the red headed man and steering him towards the forest.

"I am supposed to be watching her," Roy growled at him and tugged his wrist out of the other man's grasp.

"Yeah but why?"

"Raven asked me to," he said stiffly and started to walk away as if that was enough an answer. He almost made it out of the tree line to see the blonde slumped defeated near the border of the camp, almost was the key word. He hissed and shoved roughly into the other man.

"Are you trying to make me disobey orders?"

"Since when do thieves take orders seriously?" Richard shot back annoyed.

"Since a friend asked him too," he growled. He felt something off about this as well though. He knew he shouldn't care. He was part of Jason's group but his old sense of morals was running high at the moment. He did used to be the world's best sharp shooter and he didn't become the best by sitting by idly when things started to heat up.

"I just want to ask you a few questions," Richard said evenly. Both men eyed each other wearily feeling something close to a long lost rivalry bubbling at the surface. Why would he feel this familiar with a man he had just met the other day? This kind of strong emotion of general dislike and fondness wasn't the type to spring out of nowhere.

"Go ahead and shoot," he said after a moment.

"Why do I remember so much about you?"

()()()()()()()()()

"Alright let's make like a tree and leave," Garfield called from the front of the line excitedly. Victor groaned at the bad pun from beside the younger boy. He wasn't sure why exactly Raven gave control to him today. Today was important, today they might be ambushed, and today they might all have to fight. Raven didn't seem too perplexed about it though, hell she had even trusted the younger boy and himself back when she fought Malchior.

"Garfield can handle it," she told had told him sternly. If Raven believed in the little grass stain then he guessed he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. He would have to trust him as well.

"Mount up," Victor barked. He wasn't beside the Princess today and that sort of made him uneasy but he wasn't about to question his sister's orders. Just as the group headed out there was a high pitched shriek that ran throughout the air as Kori came tearing out of her tent like a bat out of hell. Her red hair flowed behind her almost angelically but her face was twisted in terror giving the Princess an almost ethereal look about her.

"Kori?" he questioned. That was odd. Why hadn't anyone taken down her tent yet and why was she running like she had just seen a ghost?

"Kori wait!" Raven yelled, tearing after the Princess as she dashed off into the forest. "What are you waiting for Royal Guard? After them!" the thief shouted dashing into the woods himself. Victor urged his horse forward easily surpassing him and following the two girls.

"Stay away!" Kori yelled as Raven caught up on lost ground.

"Kori! What is the matter with you?" Raven's voice was just loud enough to carry to the princess who continued to run as if her life depended on it.

"I don't know who you are but if you keep coming closer I will call for Terra."

"Terra?" he mumbled to himself. He could see the look of confusion and realization flicker on Raven's face as he gained on them. He flew past her and Kori and rounded his horse in front of them effectively stopping the mad dash through the woods. Raven was panting her eyes were squinting at the girl before her like she was some time of puzzle to figure out.

"Oh Victor, thank goodness," Kori breathed out. "Arrest this girl. She is from Azarath and was muttering all sorts of madness. We shall take her to the King to be tried," Kori ordered.

He felt his jaw drop in shock as he stared at the girl he loved. She was talking like she didn't even know Raven.

"Stop joking around Kori. We have to get going," he said weakly reaching out to her.

"I can assure you Victor that I am most certainly not kidding. Arrest her before she escapes!" Kori half shouted a surge of panic taking note in her voice.

"Kori…" he shook his head unable to wrap things around the situation.

"She has saved your life several times over!" the thief yelled crashing through the woods. "This is how you pay her back? By betraying her?"

Kori's eyes flicked with confusion. She gasped and her hands flew up to her eyes.

"Kori," Raven said evenly.

"No you are a bad person, an enemy," Kori yelled still blocking her vision with her hands.

"Kori look at me," Raven said calmly as the rest of the guard finally caught up to them and created a small circle around the two girls. The thief was closest to them, and he looked close to springing into the center of it.

"Is this girl giving you trouble?" Richard barked.

"Yes. She is bad. Please… arrest her. Restrain her. She is attempting to do the forbidden on me," Kori gasped. He could see tears flowing out of her eyes.

"What the hell- Kori this is-"

"No Victor. It probably is best to lock me up," Raven said calmly. Her eyes were still trying to study her friend but there was a closed off acceptance there that he hated to see.

"What is going on?" he yelled at her.

"I asked Kori to release me from my bonds to better protect her," Raven said quietly.

"I do not know this girl and I know not what these bonds are that she refers to. She is from Azarath and is an enemy. She must be restrained until Father can judge her," Kori said quickly. It was clear that the girl's demeanor was slowly getting over the shocked aspect of this and moving to anger but he still couldn't understand why. What was she talking about not knowing Raven? She had grown up with her hadn't she?

Jason seemed to put it together before he did and again he was thankful that the thief was here.

"Your majesty, she is under my charge. I will make sure she doesn't bother you again," he said quickly and grabbed Raven and forced him behind her and out of the Princess's view. The Princess slowly looked up at him and smiled.

"Keep a better eye on your charges," she said easily to him like she remembered and knew him. "We must be off. Father is throwing a wonderful ball for us when we get there," she told the rest of the guard quickly dismissing Raven and Jason as commoner's that followed her around. And just like that the rest of the guard followed her out of the woods and back to the path.

"Victor," Raven said rushing over to him and grabbing his arm to stop him from joining the group.

"Raven. What the hell was that all about? She acted like she didn't even know you. And her father is dead, isn't he? She just brushed it all off as soon as Jason said he was in charge of you… this doesn't make any sense. What is going on?"

"Memory wipe spell gone wrong. She can't act normal but it seems it snagged a few guards as well. Grab Terra and get the hell out of here. She's causing a memory block on the Princess. Roy must've let her talk to her-"

"How is Terra doing that? Isn't she from the country Earth like me and Garfield?"

"She isn't doing it but it is being done through her. Get her out of here now! Hurry go get her!" Raven half shouted in panic. He didn't think just reacted and mounted his horse and pushed it as fast as it could go, jumping through the underbrush he beat the rest of the group by seconds. Terra was strapped to a horse with Garfield behind her.

"Dude what was with all that yelli-"

"No time, follow me!" he barked and continued to gallop down the road. He was thankful when he heard Garfield's horse join his and turned to look at his friend.

"What about Terra?" Garfield shouted. The girl in question looked every bit as confused as he did.

"We need to get her out of here," he told his friend in answer. The last thing he wanted was for Garfield to dump the girl on the side of the road as they rode out of here. He had a feeling if he hadn't said to keep her that might have been the case.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **And now I'm back... from outerspace. I told you guys as soon as I started stressing out I wasn't going to have time to write? Well like I predicted I wrote a crap ton. XD. I even posted a chapter last week. I forgot to do reviews for the last chapter. So I'll combine both on this one. With my thanks to reviewers Ten Faced, Lust for Life,

**Wolf Skater - **Close ;)

**Glitter Rose - **I hope I can bring it together neatly in the end as well. I wrote the next few chapters out already but I am still buffing them up. Glad you loved the last chapter.

**half-demon24- **Keep guessing ;). I was trying to get the emotions right. Can't forget about Victor in this story. He is important. That and I felt like I was just writing a lot about Jason and Raven and as much fun as that is I gotta mix it up a little bit. :p

**may yuki- **squealing is allowed as long as no one else hears it ;)

**crazynerd - **I promise all your thousands of (3) questions will be answered in later chapters. :). I think I get all three of them in the next chapter but I am buffing them up. I was nervous about writing her reaction to Malchior, but it sounds like I did alright with that. Glad to hear from you again. I always love waiting so I have a few chapters to read. In fact lately I've been taking to only reading complete stories so I don't have to wait. Haha.

**The Raven's Nevermore - **Yeah I can see where the confusion would come in. I'll try and keep it clearer when writing in one guys POV.


	23. Knight

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty Three: Knight**

"Don't take another step closer… TERRA!" she wailed loudly backing into the edge of the table. She squealed as the young girl with violet hair clamped her hand over her mouth. She bit her until she drew blood but it didn't deter the young witch. Where was the captain of her guard Terra? Where was-

"Kori'ander listen to me. You know me. Look at me please," the young girl's voice was just desperate enough to get her to look up slightly. Kori's eyes seemed to glare at the wall against her will before she remembered she wasn't supposed to trust people from Azarath. People from Azarath could do spells and manipulate minds. That was the whole reason her country had gone to war with them, to stop the trickery they did on her people.

But this girl was sealed. The rare chakras were on her hands and one burned into her forehead. This girl couldn't be much of a threat. An odd emotion welled up inside her. She didn't feel right.

"I don't know you," she hissed pulling the other girl's hand away.

"You do. I swear you do. Look at your right hand," she said desperately. "Look at that scar there. That was the day I swore I would always protect you because I didn't have a sister so I made you my own. I swore I would never lose you! Kori look at that scar," the girl pulled on her hand to lift it to her gaze. There was an ugly scar that was maybe the size of her pinky and the girl quickly placed her own hand above hers to show the matching scar she had.

"Sisters?" Kori mumbled. How could this be? She didn't know this girl. She finally looked up into the girl's eyes. The violet eyes that were streaming with tears and she felt guilt well up in side of her. She should not be making her feel this way, it was unfair. But it didn't matter if she was a stranger. Strangers could be dangerous. Those eyes though, they were so familiar. They seemed to hold a thousand good memories filled with laughter. Her head snapped down to face the dirt on her shoes. She shouldn't be sympathizing with this girl. She was insane, claiming they were sisters like that. Where was Terra? She should have been here by now.

"Kori…" the girl said weakly. She noticed that she hadn't moved the girl's hand and the girl gave her a gentle squeeze which caused her to lift her head up ever so slightly to meet her gaze.

'_Go away,_' she wanted to say. She couldn't handle the emotions that seemed to charge the room. How did this girl seem so familiar yet she didn't have a single memory of her? Something clicked within her thoughts as those violet eyes bore into her, imploring her to remember.

"_Princess," Raven said stiffly bowing as she entered the room. She frowned at the young girl. _

"_I have told you friend to call me Kori. I do not like it when you call me Princess," she said. The girl just nodded idly and went about her room picking up discarded clothes from the night before. She sighed and went beside her to pull the clothes out of her arms._

"_Victor is my friend. Any friend of his is a friend of mine. I wish you would talk to me," Kori said quietly but she knew the girl could hear her as she nodded stiffly. _

"_I am your friend," Raven said, her voice raising ever so slightly as if she were really upset. _

"_Then stop acting as my slave, you are not one," she said sternly. _

"_But I was told to pick-"_

"_Do not listen to a word my sister has told you," she snapped. "That woman has no love for anyone but herself. I don't want a sister like that!" she found a dry sob escape her as she threw her clothes roughly into the wash pile. _

Those violet hued eyes that were always protecting her. They were the eyes that she looked up to.

"_Raven… do you not like me?"_

"_Huh? Why would you say that Kori?" the much older Raven said. She was perched on Kori's window sill reading a book with a far off look on her face. For once though the violet haired thirteen year old seemed to sense the importance that Kori was feeling and gave her, her full attention. _

"_Well you never really do that opening up thing with me. Are you unhappy? I have tried to be a good frien-"_

"_Kori," Raven said softly interrupting her with a smile. "I am very happy. I just like to read a lot and not talk much. You are a wonderful friend."_

"_I see you staring at the men in the court practicing sword. Do you fancy one of them?"_

_Raven blushed as she looked at her younger friend._

"_No. Actually I don't."_

"_Oh please tell me which one it is!"_

"_It's not like that," Raven said uneasily. Her eyes shifted restlessly around the room. _

"_Is it because he is too old or is it-"_

"_It's because I want to fight Kori," Raven interrupted again. Her face flushed so brightly and she bit her lip as if she uttered something that should have been forbidden to her. _

"_Why?"_

_Raven was quiet for a long moment before she sighed. _

"_Honestly Princess, I want to pay you back for the freedom you have given me. You saved my life that day," Raven said. It wasn't in a quiet tone or a defeated one, it was a tone that held a hint of pride. Kori couldn't help but feel a feeling of happiness overwhelm her. She understood now that Raven really just didn't talk much and that the young girl did like her enough to some degree. _

"_I have told you not to call me Princess Raven," she felt exasperated at that but it quickly gave way to her joy, "You should train to be in my guard then," Kori offered feeling herself smile wider at the shock in Raven's face. _

"_But…"_

"_I insist. It would do better to be surrounded by friends if I have to have people following me around all the time."_

_Raven let out a lit chuckle. It was the first time Kori had ever heard her laugh. She knew right then that she had done the right thing for both of them. She would hang on to this moment forever. Raven had such a wonderful laugh._

Those were the violet eyes of her sister.

_The night was gloomy and clouds filled the sky ominously. Raven had a bandage covering her left hand but the girl looked happy none the less. She was lanky as always but her figure was starting to stick out of her clothing just like Kori. Another similarity they had. But tonight she wouldn't be wishing that her and Raven had all these similarities they would finally be tied with blood. She would finally have a sister she could love fully. _

"_Why did you do the blood bond with Victor too?" she found herself asking Raven as they waited with baited breaths for the last of her guards to walk down the hall._

_Raven was spending the night again when she wasn't supposed to. Raven often would sneak into her room at night and most times it was just to read Kori her favorite story. Tonight though there was urgency to their meeting. They had to perform the ritual before Raven was official inducted to her guards, because then their relationship could change completely and for now she wanted her longtime friend to be hers and just hers. As soon as Raven took that oath she would be protecting Kori yes, but she would also be serving a country that had destroyed hers. Kori knew their time spent together just as close friends was coming to an end, but sisters were forever. A sister was something that went beyond oaths and duties to a kingdom. She was glad that Raven had agreed, even if it was only to humor her she loved Raven in more than a friend way and she hated her own cruel sister. She had always wanted a sister like Raven._

"_The same reason we are," Raven whispered back. Kori could only smile. Once she and Raven's blood mixed they would truly be sisters and no one would ever be able to take her away from her. _

"Raven?" she found herself sobbing.

For once it wasn't her giving her friend a hug of relief it was Raven throwing herself haphazardly into her arms.

"God Kori I really thought I lost you there. Don't ever do that again," she whispered.

She had to pull herself from Raven's hug to hurl her stomach's contents out.

"Oh Raven I am so sorry," she said as tears started to blind her as they rushed forward. How could she have forgotten?

"Not your fault Kori," Raven assured her. Kori flew into her arms crushing her friend with a hug and buried her face into her neck to take a long deep breath.

"I will not forget again sister," she whispered referring back to the thing neither one of them had mentioned for years until this day. She felt tears spill on to Raven's shoulder but her friend seemed unfazed by it.

"I'll be here to bring you back again if you do," Raven promised.

()()()()()()()()

"Woah, Rae calm down," Richard said.

That was the worst thing he could have possibly said to her. If he hadn't been worried about the current situation he would have laughed at the other man's sheer stupidity.

"Calm down? Calm down? The only ones who kept their heads and realized something was wrong were Victor and Red X. And if you haven't realized I had to send Victor off with a deranged girl and one of my top guards and Red X isn't exactly under my charge and you tell me to calm down?" she hissed rounding on Richard while she paced around the tent.

"At least the situation is under control now," he said calmly as her face flushed with rage.

"No it is not. I barely got Kori to snap out of the spell and we can't go running off into the open…"

"We can't sit here like ducks either Rae. We're probably out numbered. We only have half a day's journey to reach the castle. Once we get there we can recuperate."

"That is assuming the castle hasn't been taken over and we can ride as fast as possible," Raven growled. Her brows were furrowed together in frustration as she continued pacing restlessly.

"I don't see much of a choice though," she said sighing. "We can't waste any more time," she huffed.

"Uhh Raven?" Roy piped up from his spot against the wall.

He was lined up there with the rest of the bandits so Richard could keep an eye on them. The rest of his trust for them plummeting to nothing after Raven went storming up to Roy and cursing him for letting Terra near Kori. Because that was really the only way the spell could have reached Kori was through Terra, she could remember that much from her teachings. Had Richard known the reasons Roy was keeping an eye on Terra he wouldn't have pulled him aside. Still Richard was in deep trouble as well but for now Raven was ignoring that. She bristled at Roy addressing her but she looked him over to let him know she was listening.

"Why don't we ride out with Kori? It's something no one would expect and we could get there faster than the rest of the guard without all the supplies."

"We?" she asked.

"Jason, Garth, and I," he said easily.

"No way in hell am I going to let that thief take the Princess away from here. In case you didn't remember he kidnapped Raven," Richard snapped before Raven could get a word in edge wise. Raven sighed and ran her hand through her hair and made a show of wiping her face.

"You aren't the Captain, Richard," Raven said wearily. "But he does have a point. I can't exactly expect everyone to allow Red X to take her along with two of his strongest fighters," she continued.

"Karen then?" Jason offered from his own spot on the wall. He was propped next to the tent door, his eyes never leaving Raven as she paced across the floor. He looked like a tiger about to jump on his prey.

"You trust her, don't you?" he continued and smirked as Raven's eyes lit up.

"Yes I do," she said breathlessly turning to her darker friend. "Will you-"

"Don't even ask. Of course I will," Karen said stubbornly. "I want to take Roy with me and Jinx as well. In case we run into trouble," she added almost as an afterthought. Richard looked like he was about to protest, that by letting Karen go with most of Jason's men was just as bad as the first suggestion but Raven glared when he made a noise of protest and he fell silent. She was the Captain not him, and she trusted Karen.

"Of course. Do you want one of my men as well?"

"Nah. The only guy I would have taken rode off with blonde and that grass stain."

Raven nodded ignoring the insult that was hidden within the comment and immediately started counting off things she would have to do when she reached the castle. She rushed to the desk and wrote a quick letter and sealed it with her Captain's ring. She handed it to Karen telling her to give it to whoever was at the gate and not to talk to anyone or let Kori out of her sight once they reached there. The rest went by in a blur as the other's set out instantly. Soon the only people remaining in the tent were himself, Raven, and that punk kid Richard.

The air tensed considerably as both men stared at each other.

"We don't have time for whatever you two are about to start," Raven said interrupting the staring contest. Richard looked like he was about to say something but Raven silenced him with another glare. "We need to head out as well. We are going to try and follow them as long as possible unless we slow them down."

He nodded sighing in relief to be moving again. It was only noon but this had been the longest day he had had in a while. Raven looked worn as well. It seemed like a life time ago she had been sleeping in his arms when in reality it had just been this morning.

Richard took off muttering something about having to pack up quickly and that just left himself and Raven.

"Help me take down this tent," she commanded exiting and holding the flap open for him. He sighed and followed her out. It really didn't take two people to do this job but he could see why she wanted his help. Richard was tending to Malchior's dead body. He had piled up a large amount of wood and was igniting the fire beneath it.

"Think that brat will be safe with your brother?" he questioned trying to distract her from the stench that filled the air almost instantly.

"Of course. Victor can handle anything," she said firmly tugging out a peg from the ground. Her nose crinkled and he could see that she was blinking rapidly to deter tears.

"Can he handle that … what was the term Karen used… 'Grass stain'?"

Raven chuckled keeping her eyes trained on the pegs attached to the tent.

"He can keep Garfield in check when the time is serious enough," she answered going around and pulling out another peg with a little effort.

"Can he handle those two being in love?" he whispered bending down close to her as he pulled the pegs from her hands. Raven stared at him dumbly for a moment.

"He can do whatever needs be done," she said firmly.

()()()()()()()

"_You think Malchior will ever love you?"_

"_He loves me more than you. He has accepted me. I'm his in every way possible," she jeered at Raven. _

"_So that's why you betrayed Garfield?"_

_It was like a slap to the face. She knew? How did she know? She swallowed and sent a nervous look to the man that was pinned on the ground beneath the violet haired witch. She couldn't let her kill him. He was her ticket to freedom from this kingdom. He was her ticket to a life with Garfield back in Earth. _

"_I never betrayed Garfield," she answered quietly. She remembered that fight all those years ago with Raven. She remembered the contempt that Raven always held her with. Raven had never trusted her since then. Back then she really had loved Malchior, back then she would have done anything but now it was for herself, now it was for Garfield. _

"_He sure look hurt when he saw you with Malchior. He thought you had gotten over him," Raven snapped, she looked like she was going to collapse any second but her blade was still pressed close to Malchior's throat. _

"_I didn't-"_

"_Terra," Malchior said sharply interrupting the two girls. "Let Raven tie me up and then tie you up. We are defeated," he said calmly. _

"_Yes Terra," Raven snapped putting stress on her name. That said it all though, she didn't need to add her biting comment that could be attached to it. She could hear it all in the way she said her name. She felt a dry sob escape her. _

_God dammit. This couldn't be happening. Her happily ever after, it would never happen. Her freedom would forever be lost to her, she would be thrown in jail. She found herself sitting back on her feet feeling an overwhelming since of defeat lapse over her. She was going to die. There was no hope, either Slade would come for her or the gallows of Tarema would. _

"Terra," Garfield said stiffly snapping her out of her thoughts of having been captured.

He roughly passed her an open water skin and watched her drink deeply from it. The cool liquid seemed to fill her belly with fire and she knew what she would have to do. She couldn't lead these two to the camp and trust her own actions if they were found out. She took a deep breath resolve settling in her stomach. With a painful gasp she felt something inside her break. She broke the contract with Slade, and now she could no longer be used as his puppet or his instrument to manipulate others. She could feel Garfield's worried look as she broke out in a cold sweat but she ignored him and continued fighting off the ruminants of her spell. Finally, as the path split before them she pointed weakly to the right the last bits of the spell left her system. She was free in one way but bound in others. The final price for her freedom would always be death. She bit down hard on her lip as she felt her body fight to remain lucid. She had to hold out for a bit longer.

"Think we are close?" Victor whispered in a hushed tone.

She looked around feeling awkward at having Victor address her without any hate in his voice. In fact any time anyone addressed her it was with more pity than with hate. They must know her fate that she was doomed now no matter what her choice was. She would have to accept that. She did accept that and in her defeat she decided to pick the side with her friends, that was why she fought the spell and broke it to lead them here. Still she couldn't handle the monotone in Garfield's voice. She was so used to him being fun loving and full of life and lame jokes. She wished this had never happened. She wished she had stayed on their side, but she had been planning on betraying them since day one. She would have never met them if it wasn't for Malchior.

"Terra?" Garfield questioned quietly in her ear. She shivered. It was torture having him so close yet so far away. She wanted her final moments to be like how they used to be.

She studied her surroundings and nodded.

"Just past those trees there is a hill that goes up pretty steeply. That is where the main camp is. They have him there and Master is there too," she told him in a hushed tone. She flushed slightly as Victor narrowed his eyes at her. She could feel his mistrust seeping up to her from here.

"Are you sure about this Gar?" he asked his younger friend.

"It's the only way the other's will be able to make it threw that pass," he said tiredly. He hopped off his horse and pulled her down with him. His arms holding her for a split second longer than he needed too and his face colored slightly.

Victor dismounted as well and they both went to tie their horses against a tree. This was the junction where the two roads met, and this one was barely wide enough for three to pass, when the others passed by they would be able to make it safely home.

"Alright Terra. We are probably going to die anyways," Victor started solemnly.

"And if we do it would really help if you didn't betray us a second time," Garfield added, his voice adopting a more teasing tone. Victor started forward and drew his sword arm and she felt herself flinching. For a second she thought he was going to stab her but his arm went down quickly and cut off the robes that had been binding her.

"Here's your chance to get a little trust back before we all go," the older man said quietly to her. Garfield stepped forward handing her a spare sword. "You're all rested up too which should help some," he said winking at her.

"You're right, it should," she said grinning at the blade in her hands. For a split second she thought about running but she knew that would doom the two men. If they kept talking about dying like this she wasn't sure what she would do. She couldn't imagine a world without Garfield. A world without him didn't seem like any world at all. She just wanted to find a nice cool place of earth and die quietly, but she was never one for quiet exits.

"Us three against a hundred men, Brother Blood, and a former king who's been brain washed and enslaved," she said feeling grim but standing beside them her back straightening with pride.

"I say we can take down at least the army," Victor agreed. "That would just leave Brother Blood and Trigon for Raven," Garfield smiled.

"Or just Brother Blood. He is controlling Trigon," Terra corrected. She tried to remember how much she had told them but she knew it didn't matter. They trusted her, that was why they let her lead them here.

"But Slade is on the loose," Victor said frowning.

"Uh… guys. I don't think Slade is our problem. I think they are," Garfield squeaked turning the other two's attention in front of them. There stood an army, one hundred strong. All their forces marching steadily down the hill.

"Let's go!" Victor shouted storming up to meet the first group. Garfield looked at her for a moment longer, and then he grinned encouragingly and then dashed after his friend.

She looked back at her hands. They were raw from the rope and stiff from misuse but with the path way they were fighting on three men couldn't go past at one time. It was perfect for them all.

She charged forward feeling a scream tear through her throat as she raced up to the opposing army. Her sword slashed manically against her enemies as she met them and she felt the sickening thud of metal on metal. She found a grin finding its place on her as she pared and slashed down the man easily. She could die like this. Die a redeemed hero and at least she would be next to Garfield literally.

"Bet I can get more than you," she called to Garfield. Anything to take away the horror of killing another, and the best way to do that was not to think. She was good at not thinking things through.

"In your dreams!" he shouted back.

()()()()()()()()

"Open the gates!" she called sternly and loudly. Her voice echoed off the walls and bounced back to her but she knew someone had heard her when a man popped his head over the wall.

"Princess?" he questioned.

"Sir Wayne. Please open the gates!" she called back up but not as sternly as before. She found a smile stealing over her lips but for once it was forced. She did not feel genuinely happy right now.

No she was not. She had been tricked into thinking that Raven was her enemy, Victor had left her side, and now she would be forced to ignore the worry she felt for her friends and do courtly duties. She would have to see her father's corpse and hear his cause of death in front of half of the court. That was something she was not looking forward to.

The gate overhead rolled open with a loud groan, and clanged loudly as it hit the top.

"What are you doing here?" Sir Wayne said coming down to greet her party.

"I have heard the word about my father," she told him, thankful that for that type of news she did not have to fake a smile.

"Your father?" the older man asked. He was in his late thirties at the least, but he barely looked it, only a few flecks of grey brushed his hair and he had the same bright blue eyes that his son had. Wait a second. Her thoughts froze as she tried to piece the thought together.

"Where's Richard?" the man asked when she didn't give him an answer. "That boy would know what is going on."

"How do you know Richard?" she asked. Why was this so familiar? She shouldn't know him as Richard's father. Richard was a poor peasant from their town.

"He's the second in command of the guard isn't he? At least he was when you guys all left here."

"No you are mistaken ser. Richard is…" _your son_, her thoughts finished for her. "Please ser. What news of my father?" she asked feeling urgency that hadn't existed before. She needed to piece this together and fast. Someone had tampered with her memories and the only ones that could do that were people of Azarath. Raven was the last one she had come in contact with but that didn't make any sense for her to do so. Raven had pulled her out of a spell for her to remember her, plus she was bound by her chakras and couldn't perform magic.

"He is fine Princess," the man said shortly.

"Fine?" the red headed man asked from behind her. He frowned and Karen was flat out scowling at the man in front of her.

"Never been better, he just got back from a peace conference with Earth yesterday," the man was eyeing the group behind her suspiciously. "Alright, Princess. I have a few questions of my own."

Memories came flooding back to her. Richard the boy she had been in love with, Richard who had protected her from Malchior when he thought something fishy was going on, Richard who had pretended to be a new peasant in town a few months before they got there to scope out the area. Richard, the Captain of the Guard after Malchior was defeated until things grew too awkward between them and he gave up his position to be second in command again. That was why he knew how to lead, that was why he picked up the pieces when Raven couldn't. But if that was the case then why did none of them remember that?

"Sir, questions can wait. Right now I need you to ride out with this man and find my guards. I believe they are in grave danger."

He didn't need her to say anything else. He just nodded grabbed one of their horses and immediately galloped out. The red haired teen following close behind him.

_He'll make it in time. He'll save the day_, she thought to herself. She wanted nothing more than to ride out with him but something else was pressing on her mind. She had to reassure herself that her father was still alive. She wanted nothing more than to check on him first.

A new shame reared its ugly head to face her as more realization came. This had all been a trap, and if this trap worked and one of her friends died it would all be her fault. She felt woozy and took a step forward thankful that Karen's firm hand steadied her. The pink haired girl was next to her, an odd mixture of blood thirst and calmness settling over her face.

"Let's go see your father," Karen said. There was a small reassuring smile on her face but Kori could see the same pieces clicking together in her eyes as well. She really hoped Sir Wayne got there in time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Mwahahahahaha. Things starting to click? ;). Thanks to reviewers ~ **Wolf Skater, Glitter Rose, Ten-Faced, Lust for Life, half-demon24, and may yuki. **You guys all rock. Here's a cookie (#)


	24. Death's Doorstep

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Death's Doorstep **

"That sounds like fighting," Raven whispered next to him. He nodded feeling dread reach him for a split second as concern for his friends reached him. He pushed it aside though; they could fight just fine without him.

Cursing loudly Raven pushed her exhausted horse forward. The poor animals had about as much rest as the rest of the group and it was starting to show in their stubbornness in keeping a slow and steady pace. She cursed again when the horse did nothing but flick his ears back in annoyance with her. She swung out of her seat and hit the group running. He barely had enough time to blink before he took off after her. He could feel the rest of the group joining him as well.

For once he sort of wished Jinx was here. That girl just had a habit of drawing bad luck. If she was here it would be them caught in the middle of that fight, but then again they were rushing right towards it. Raven's pace was slow and she was easy to catch up with. Her breath came out in sort pants and her steps were faulty. He caught her arm to steady her but didn't slow his pace, which wound up in his dragging her.

"Jump on my back," he half commanded and stopped for a split second to allow her access to his back. He heard her scoff but she didn't resist. She knew that in her condition this was the best way to get to where she wanted to be.

Richard caught up to them next, a stern look on his face as they rounded a corner. The road split ahead of them and they could hear fighting just around the bend but there stood a man in their way. He wore a mask that covered half of his face completely and just enough for one eye to stick out on the other side.

"Slade," Raven hissed on his back. Before he could stop her she jumped from his back and charged the man.

"Raven!" he yelled and made a wild grab for her. His heart sank as his fingers just barely missed her and she kept running forward towards the man.

It was like watching a horrific scene in slow motion. Raven jumped and went to kick the man but he moved easily to the side and sent a quick punch her way. He easily swept her aside and she landed against a tree with a sickening thud. Her head rolled loosely to the side making her look even more broken.

He was repulsed, he was enraged, all he could see was that stupid eye in that man's mask that looked amused as if that had been too easy. Before he knew it he was just about to charge on his own when something held him back. He glared hard at the boy who had his hand wrapped around his own.

"Think," Richard said. He wanted to hit him, he wanted to scream and call him a dumb ass. How could he think with Raven laying there and looking so broken? He managed to steady himself when he noticed that even the young man was shaking violently in rage.

"Together?" he asked. He knew the boy would get what he was asking.

Without a pause both charged the mad man.

"Ah have both brothers fallen in love with the same girl?" he cackled as he easily dodged Richard's sweeping kick and Jason's jabbing punch.

"Brothers?" they both questioned in an eerie fashion.

"He's just messing with us," Jason decided.

"Am I?" Slade taunted.

"There is no way in hell I am related to that pig," Richard said. Jason scoffed and flipped over Richard's shoulder to land a solid kick on the mad man's jaw. He stumbled back a few feet but caught Jason's follow up punch and tossed him roughly aside. Jason caught himself midair and landed roughly on the ground, sliding a few feet.

Richard was in the midst of assaulting the villain so violently that he couldn't see an opportunity to assist or jump in. His mind jumped rapidly from the fight in from of him to checking on Raven. It wasn't a choice, not really, as he turned from the fight hoping that stupid kid could take care of the madman and dashed to Raven's side. Her breathing was labored and her eyes were shut tightly.

"Rae," he whispered placing his hand behind her neck and holding her close. His other hand traveled to her hip to scoop her into his arms. She looked paler than normal and looked insanely weaker than what he was used to.

"Hey there," she cooed, almost affectionately as her hand seemed to travel up on his own accord to gaze his cheek. Her eyes were glazed over with pain and when she coughed a little blood came out.

"Raven. You better not die on me," he said roughly, while shaking her lightly so that the focus in her eyes returned slightly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't tell you earlier," she said quietly.

"Didn't tell me what?"

"That I do like you," she said with a small smile on her lips.

"I already knew that," he snapped feeling irritated with her. He couldn't do anything but sit by helplessly as she lightly pulled herself up and kissed his lips. Her lips were cold and seemed to bring a wave of uncertainty to him. She coughed and smiled at him leaning back into his arms. He wasn't about to let her give up so easily.

"You are fine Hon. Just a few flesh wounds. Stop being all serious acting like you are going to die. You aren't. I won't let you," he said desperately.

"I'm so sorry," she said weakly. Her hand went up to his cheek the small sad smile never leaving her lips. "I'm sorry I lied. I do love you," she said quietly. "I was just so scared. I can't remember my past-"

"Your past doesn't matter Raven. Your future does," he interrupted. He lowered his lips and gave her a small kiss trying to feel the warmth that had been there not too long ago. "Stop joking around Rae. You'll be fine," he assured her.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to interrupt someone?" she said coughing. He grinned down at her remembering similar words he had told her not too long ago.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you thieves are the biggest hypocrites ever?"

"RED X!" Richard shouted bringing his attention back to the fight. Richard was pinned against a tree, his legs dangling dangerous below him as Slade placed a sharp blade to his throat. He put Raven down gently and as slowly as possible, savoring the feeling of her in his arms.

"We'll talk again soon. You aren't going to die," he told her firmly.

"I can't make any promises. I'm sorry but I knew this would happen all along," she said quietly but she knew he didn't hear. He was already rushing towards Slade with a blood thirsty look and a furious exchange of punches began. Richard joined after a moment and the furious duo forced Slade to retreat into the woods.

()()()()()()()()()()

"I demand you at least send some foot soldiers to their aid," Kori was practically snarling at her father who looked at her with amusement and something close to pity.

"I have no troops to spare little one. Half are fighting off your sister's husband to the north, and the other half are in Azarath as we speak and are too far from our reach," he told her in a tone he would use with a small child who simply wasn't understanding something. She restrained the urge to punch a wall and took a deep breath.

"Then I shall go back to them."

"I forbid-"

"No you will not forbid. I cannot allow my friends to die for me. Not when I have at least some power to save them," she hissed interrupting him.

Her father, to his credit, did not give her the usual lecture of they are servants and her guard and were used to such dangers. He just grimly bit his lip and stared down at her before sighing.

"So be it. At least take the two girls that came with you and a few of my guards," he said.

"I will take the girls but not your men. If you refuse to give me trained soldiers I won't take any more into a battle," she growled.

"They are trained-"

"They are trained to do as they are told and to die for us," her voice raised. She didn't want to argue anymore her point had been made. The guards weren't trained in sword and shield; they barely knew what end of a spear to hold. She would not have them mindlessly marching into a battle only to die for her. She was trying to save lives, not condemn them.

"And you think your guards are different?"

"They aren't my guards. They are my friends," she said. Before he could even get into the whole 'you're my daughter and only living heir' speech she bowed her head politely dismissing herself before storming out of the room. She slammed the door forcefully behind her, and it rang out louder than a gun. She leaned back against it willing the tears that were stinging her eyes away. She would save her friends. She couldn't believe she had wasted this last hour instead of rushing straight back out that gate.

"How'd it go?" the pink haired girl named Jinx jeered at her. She was leaning causally against a pillar studying her fingernails in boredom. Karen was opposite her, mimicking her position only with her arms folded neatly over her chest.

"Not well," she half growled. She strode forward and down the hallway motioning for the two girls to follow her. They did following her silently like shadows.

"So what's the plan now?" Karen said as they continued marching and followed her down a set of stairs.

"We go back," she said.

"And then what?" Jinx said exasperated.

"We fight," she answered. She turned her head slightly to see both of the girls grinning wickedly to each other.

"There's a problem with that," Jinx started. She made her way past Kori to block the path.

"And that would be?" she half growled.

"Raven trusted me to keep you safe. You're under my charge," Karen whispered. Her breath ghosted her ear as she reached around and grabbed both of Kori's hands easily and pulled them behind her back. "And to keep you safe would not be to let you to charging back into that mess."

"But we have to save them!" she shouted. They had to understand. Their own friend's were back there in that mess. Frustrated tears began to surface. "No!" she whipped her arms out of Karen's restrain. "If you are more loyal to Raven than to me you'd let me go save her! Surely you two have loved ones back there. We must make haste!" she insisted.

Karen made to grab for her again but Kori was faster and side stepped out of her reach.

"Please! I can't do this alone," she felt wild as she rounded back to Jinx and stared at the oddly colored hair and matching eyes. "You have to understand," she pleaded.

"Alright Bee. I can't stand this blubbering. Let's just get out of here already," the pink haired girl growled. She looked pale and on edge as her eyes traveled down the hallway searchingly.

Karen sighed.

"I promised Raven…"

Kori didn't say a word, just wordless pleaded with her eyes staring at the two girls.

"Well I didn't," Jinx snapped. "I'm taking charge you can follow my lead for once," the girl half growled as she grabbed Kori by the wrist and started dragging her down the steps.

"Where the hell is the stable? We need fresh horses," she asked and explained at Kori's confused look.

"Great. Just add stealing from royalty to the list of –"

"Shut up Bee. Where?" Jinx asked impatiently snapping. Kori beamed at her before briefly pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"Follow me Friends," she told them.

()()()()()()()()()()

She had a deep cut on her arm. She knew it was deep, she could barely move without feeling a fresh wave of blood go pouring down her arm. She cursed but refused to look at it. She, however, couldn't stop Garfield from seeing it. His face was paled considerably as he looked at it.

"We don't have time for you to treat it," she told him. She was already starting to feel light headed, a mixture of blood loss and the spell taking its toll on her.

He didn't say anything. He just grunted as he slashed down several men with ease. His green eyes lit up with a fire she had never seen before.

"Victor," he called out. It wasn't just saying the other man's name. It was the way he said it that conveyed a thousand different messages that only someone who was like a brother would be able to get. The darker man discreetly nodded and Garfield lunged to grab her.

"What are you doing?" she half shrieked. Well… more like she did shriek.

Garfield didn't say a word as he ripped a long piece of cloth off his shirt and with inhuman speed wrapped it around her wound.

"Terra," he said calmly just enough for her to look up into his eyes. His lips came crashing down on hers in a brief and desperate kiss.

"Oy! I am not holding them up for you to make OUT!" roared Victor. She had the decency to blush, Garfield just smirked and shot back to his position to hold his line. They were starting to wear down. They might not even be able to hold 100 men. She coughed feeling her breath come short and harder to come by. Her fingers brushed her lips where they still seemed to burn from Garfield's kiss.

She pushed herself up just in time to right herself as another man broke through the line and swung his sword around mindlessly. Honestly, goons these days just didn't cut it. The man fell quickly to her sword even with her good arm handicapped. She pared a blow of another taking her spot beside Garfield.

Just then a fit of laughter bubbled down from on top of the hill. If she squinted she could make him out.

"Brother Blood," she whispered feeling her blood churn.

He was standing tall looking down at them with a small frown on his lips. He said something but he was much too far for her to make it out. A feeling of dread over whelmed her.

"Guys. I'm about to blabber a bunch of nonsense," she told the two. She wasn't sure if they were even listening but a quick nod from each calmed her slightly. "It might not ever make sense… be sure to tell Kori, and Raven."

Again the two men nodded as they drove back a pair of soldiers.

She took a deep breath, trying to refrain from leaning against anything. The amount of blood she had lost was making it hard to keep her thoughts clear. She would have to summarize this the best she could.

"Raven is a Princess from Azarath-"

"What the hell?"

"No way!"

"Guys," she snapped. She almost teetered forward but managed to catch herself. If someone broke through the lines right now, she would be dead. "She's a Princess. Her people use magic. Her magic is sealed-"

"We know about that already," barked Victor. That saved her a little trouble.

"There were three other survivors. Her father, Malchior, and Brother Blood. The latter of the three brainwashed the other two to get revenge against Tamara. He cast a spell so powerful that it messed with the entire population's memory. Everyone. But lately he has been stressed, there have been flexes in his spell and people are starting to string things together. He wants this. He wants people to be unsure of themselves of who they are and what they have done. He has hired a professional madman Slade, to capture the last heir of Tamara and thoroughly traumatize anyone he sees fit."

She took a deep breath and coughed violently.

"One more thing. This is the most important," she told them. She couldn't stand anymore by herself and had to jam her sword into the ground to prop herself up.

"That kid Jason. He is dangerous. He might be a double agent but he can't remember. He is actually cursed by some type of ancient fairy on top of the spell with Brother Blood. No one in that group knows what he is capable of."

Victor swore loudly and rounded on her with questioning eyes.

"We left him with Raven!" his shout was half desperate, and half bloodthirsty. He slashed another man down without even looking.

"Raven can handle it," Garfield said easily not taking his eyes off of his victim. He said it with so little effort and faithfulness she felt a pang of jealous sting her heart before she swallowed it away again.

"Besides. With him, Raven will have the element of surprise," she told them. "He's unpredictable. A wild card."

The crowd of 100 soldiers and slimmed down to maybe 15 or so. Her legs shook and she pushed herself forward to help them.

"Promise me something," she told the two of them as the last few soldiers either started retreating or attacked with renewed vigor.

They didn't say anything as she wearily hacked down a man that came rushing forward.

"PROMISE!" she yelled. Her breath coming in short gasps. She took their silence as a promise she didn't have time to convince them otherwise.

"Get out of here now. I've been dying. I am done for. Get back to Raven and tell her all of this," she sliced down another man but even with a group of 10 she was giving up ground. The other two rushed to her side but she glared at them.

"Once these goons are gone all the wrath and magic up there is going to come down here. You guys have to leave. You have to warn the others. Go!" she shouted. She felt a surge of pride at the forcefulness in her voice and how easily she pushed back tears.

"I can't leave you," Garfield whispered next to her as he easily took down a man that had been about to strike her.

"You can't defend yourself against magic," she said feeling exasperated. His loyalty was touching but if she died she at least wanted him to go on living.

"Neither can you!" he shouted.

She smiled at that. He forgot something very important. She was from Earth and Earthlings could use the land as they wished. It was plenty to defend herself from magic. It was just hard to control and even harder to awaken.

"Victor. Please?" she turned to the older man. The older man that had never had any fondness of her, he had to save Garfield, he was like his brother. She didn't need to plead a moment longer as the other man easily scooped up the younger. It would have been comical, had Garfield not been screaming out a steady stream of cuss words, and crying.

Once they were gone, she took down the rest of the men with ease. She panted, trying hard to see straight, but her vision was becoming bleary. Laughter echoed down the hill to her. This was it. Her final moment. She took a deep breath, stood up defiantly and let the largest smile possible steal over her face as she held her arms open wide. She still had a trick up her sleeve. With every fiber in her being she called out to the earth clapping her hands together. The earth seemed to shake and quiver beneath her. A fissure opened up the side of the hill and ran straight up to where she could see the red cloaked Brother Blood looking down at her. She wished her vision wasn't as bleary to see if the earth had swallowed him up or not.

"Die," he said.

He said it so close to her. So near. How was that possible? She stomped her foot on the ground to shower rocks all around her. She didn't care if she killed him; she at least wanted to hit him, wound him, make him suffer. She heard him scream in anguish before cursing her. Her smile grew wider. A scream like that meant she had hurt him in some way, she had succeeded. Her legs wobbled dangerously before giving out. She let the rest of her body give as well. Her smile never left as the last thing she saw was the blue sky as she took her last breath.

()()()()()()()()()()

"Raven!"

She sat upright taking a deep breath. She had told the rest of the men not to bother her unless it was an emergency. She was still trying to make up her mind in what to do. Did they take the path and follow the sound of fighting or did they wait for Jason and Richard to show back up? She wasn't sure about who was fighting up the path but Kori had taken a slightly different route and wouldn't have even come in this direction.

"Yes Garth?" she said with as much authority in her voice as possible. She hated that she could barely move away from this tree without whimpering. So she settled for staying put and trying to think about their next step.

"Victor and Garfield are here. They said they want to see you."

She wasn't sure why her men had barred her brother and Garfield from seeing her, but she pushed away her annoyance. She was in the back of the small camp and sitting down, she didn't have a good view of her surroundings so it was safe to say that they weren't really barred, they just couldn't see her.

"Anything else?" she said coolly.

"Sir Wayne and Roy have joined our forces as well."

She sighed. Her experiences with Sir Wayne hadn't always been pleasant.

"Send them to me along with the other two. Might as well talk to them all together," she mumbled the last part to herself but Garth seemed to catch it and smiled shyly at her.

She didn't have to wait very long. They all converged as soon as Garth left her. At least that was what it felt like. Her ribs still throbbed and she was sure she had some enteral damage, and it left her thoughts hazy.

"Welcome back," she said drily to Victor, Garfield, and Roy. The smiles they returned were tight as they looked over her broken body.

"I take it Roy briefed you on the way?" she asked Sir Wayne but she already knew the answer. He nodded.

She took a deep breath. Time to think about her options was gone. She had to make several decisions. She was just about to give out a few orders. Her mouth was open as took a nervous breath.

A deep roar interrupted her. It was within the forest. It shook the floor, and then further up the road was a loud crack and the earth rumbled.

Both confused her, but her heart thrummed dramatically in her chest. She knew that roar. She knew that sound of anguish. Without thinking she pushed herself up. Her legs shook beneath her.

"Raven?"

She wasn't sure who called out her name, but she didn't really care. She knew that roar. That was Jason. Something had gone horribly wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I am so sorry about the delay! I really don't have an excuse for that. Anyways thanks to all you reviewers. I am in such a rush to post this chapter I think you all will forgive me if I don't respond to your comments this time. I hope this was enjoyed. :)


	25. Broken

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Broken**

"How does it feel Richard?"

"Don't listen to him," Jason growled. He didn't like this madman. He was completely deranged. _You would think that his attempts to confuse us would just help block out his taunts_, he thought. That was definitely not the case for Richard and Slade knew it. He was working his way so easily under his skin it was like the hatred had always been there and was now multiplying by the second.

"How does what feel?" Richard asked anyways. They were all panting and Richard and Jason leaning over their legs struggling to catch their breath while the madman leaned nonchalantly against a tree. It was a little comforting to see the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

"To see your _precious _pure Raven fraternizing with a common thief," the man said easily with a bored tone as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. This was all a joke to him.

"Seeing as you almost killed her-" Jason started to growl. He felt something inside of him start to break; a thin wall that had been built up was starting to shatter. Richard gave him a strange look as he struggled to compose himself. He couldn't. He felt something rumble in the back of his throat.

"Like I killed your mother?" Slade pressed.

He felt a roar escape him.

"Did I strike a nerve pretty boy?" Slade asked laughing. His voice was cold. Unlike all the other words and taunts he knew this was true. He remembered, he remembered everything. He had tried to hunt him down before because he did kill his mother.

Something was wrong. His eyes couldn't focus, he felt himself fall to the ground to catch himself. When he blinked his claws and matted fur met his gaze. He felt rage, uncontrollable rage surge through his body, and he felt the need to protect something or someone but he couldn't remember. He felt a snarl build in his throat and a roar escape his lips. He felt pain and his shirt fell from his body as he grew, he wanted to black out but he couldn't. His teeth elongated, his back curved, he felt his tail grow in place. This was his true form, the form of a beast. He could defeat this monster that was threating him, that was daunting him and his possessions. He wouldn't let him get away with it.

He snarled and lunged at the two men that were before him. He was faster but they were still plenty quick. They were able to leap out of his range just before he could strike them. His legs felt sluggish and slow but the longer he leapt after them the better they began to feel.

They were talking, or more like shouting at each other as well as him but he ignored their petty pleas. He hated them; they would pay for their isolate behavior.

Something was struggling to make its way to the forefront of his mind but he pushed it aside. He had to kill them. He had to kill them both to make it safe for _her_. He couldn't rest until they were dead.

()()()()()()()()()

"Roy," Raven said coolly. His hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist. Garfield and Victor had their swords pressed against his throat, Garth had a cross bow loaded and was torn between pointing at Garfield and Victor, and Sir Wayne sat back and watched impassively.

"Raven," he said back just as coolly but he didn't release his hold. "I can't let you go."

She was half tempted to yell at her friends to strike him down but she was still somewhat rational. She grinded her teeth together in frustration.

"I gave the orders. You are to follow them."

"I'm not yours to command," he hissed. Had it been any other time she would have been at a loss for words. She rounded on him not trying to stop the fast flowing tears down her face.

"I can't let you stop me," she told him. She pulled hard releasing her arm. "Stand down," she told the other three. "You have your orders. Go," she added when it was clear that they weren't about to leave.

"But Raven…" Garfield started. Victor patted his shoulder roughly and the two made their way towards the rest of the camp.

"You'll be missed on the field," Sir Wayne said. His monotone voice bringing in the cutting reminder of how much time she was wasting.

"I'll be there soon," she reassured. "Intelligence says that the force Victor and Garfield fought was just the warm up. We'll need as many men as possible out there."

He left without another word. That just left Garth and Roy standing in her way. To credit Garth though he looked fairly torn on what he should do.

"Please Garth. I don't need any more strive…" she said quietly. He smiled at her.

"I wasn't planning on giving you any," he assured her. "Roy," he said addressing his friend. "We have to let her go. She…"

"She's what? A princess? The only one that can keep him in check? On top of it all she can barely walk right now! She's not that special Garth!"

His words slapped her hard but she nodded in agreement. It was out of a selfish need she was making her way into the woods to retrieve Jason. She heard him cry and she was running after him. She was tired of being the one that was always being rescued. She would save Jason no matter what it cost. It was the least she could do.

"She loves him," Garth said quietly. "And if you don't know how the fairy tale goes…"

"It doesn't always work out that way," Roy said darkly.

"Roy," she said as quietly as possible but enough to catch his attention. "Trust me?"

He sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine."

He didn't say anything else and stomped off in the direction of the others. Garth gave her a small reassuring smile before quickly tailing after him. All she had to do now was collect herself.

Tears were still fast falling down her face. Her legs still shook, her lungs burned, and her sternum felt like a knife was constantly twisting around on her insides. She needed to heal herself.

She looked down at her hands, the chakras that bound her magic into an unusable state. She wasn't even sure it would work but it was the only chance she had. She took a deep breath.

_Kori,_ her mind called out with as much strength as she could muster.

_Raven?_ Came the reply

She smirked. It could be done.

_I don't know how alarmed you are… _

_Friend are you alright? How is everyone? Is Victor okay? Where are you? I am on my way!_

_Hang on Kori. Slow down. I have to ask you something… I'm not sure if it will work but _

She felt a sharp pang in her head and she lost the connection to Kori. She took another deep breath steadying herself. She focused and again reached into her inner mind.

_Kori you are in control of my powers. I need them. _

She would have continued the self-rant but she felt something inside of herself crack and release.

_Be careful Friend_, was all Kori said before she felt the connection close again. This time it closed because of Kori's lack of control.

The surge of energy that shot through her was almost unbearable. It was like ten years of unused magic was flooding and invading her system. She felt the wind around her pick up as her body forced a lot of it out and into the surrounding woods. She heard a tree or two crack and fall thunderously to the ground. She was sure she heard her own scream and hoped it didn't attract too much attention. She fell to the floor clutching her head as a headache overcame her. It was more than a headache; it was like someone had thrown her head under a stampede of cattle and then poured boiling water over it.

_I must not succumb_, she told herself. Emotions rolled and poured into her. She felt anger, hate, fury, confusion. She had to block it out. She had to remember her teachings. She shook violently.

"I WILL WIN!" she screamed.

Everything snapped together in place and she sat panting on the ground.

()()()()()()()()

Kori, Jinx and Karen all dismounted their horses together. Jinx was grinning wickedly and raced up ahead towards the sound of clashing swords. Karen scoffed but didn't stop her. She waited patiently besides Kori.

"Are you ready?"

"No," she answered truthfully. She wasn't ready. This was going to be a long and hard battle and she wasn't sure what terrors awaited her. She was worried about Raven, she was worried about her friends, and she was worried her kingdom. She had to push past all of that and clear her mind and heart to join her friends and help them.

She didn't wait for Karen to respond, she started running after Jinx and into the battle.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Horribly short chapter I know but... I didn't want to jump back to Raven and Jason just yet. I'll try and make up for it in the next chapter. :)

Thanks to reviewers as always you guys rock. :)


	26. Stand Tall

**Acceptance**

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Stand Tall**

She could hear the sounds of a gruesome fight just before her. She could hear Richard screaming profanities and Slade's cold voice barking out something that sounded oddly like orders. She felt fear grip her heart. Was Jason attacking Richard under Slade's control? She urged her body to fly faster but she barely had enough control to avoid the trees now as it was. She swayed dangerously trying to keep her emotions in check as she flew forward in the crowded forest.

After what seemed like hours she landed just outside the clearing as the grunts, growls, and angry roars could be heard just as close.

She was tempted to go running straight into the battle, straight into Slade and kill him for all of his wrongs, but she remained collected. She didn't have time to waste on such a pitiful wish. She didn't even know what was going on in the clearing. She shot up the tallest tree as silently as she could and peered down.

Beast was back. He was roaring flinging his arms about in such a way that made him seem insane. She couldn't see his eyes from here but the way he let out a loud roar occasionally was enough to tell her he wasn't in full control. Only he wasn't just attacking Richard, he flung a dead log at Slade and was attacking both men vigorously as possible. Richard, for his part, was doing his best to dodge the Beast and still attack Slade. Slade seemed inhuman as he danced out of both creature and man's reach with ease and returned several kicks and punches.

She felt a sigh of relief wash through her. At least they hadn't drawn any weapons.

"Why do I remember you?" Richard yelled drawing her attention back to him. He was panting hard, and sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes but he refused to wipe it away. She wondered how it wasn't blinding him.

"You honestly don't remember?" Slade jeered. She wanted to yell out to him not to listen to the madman but she didn't want to blow her cover just yet. None of them had seen her and she was waiting for just the right moment to make her move. Richard's silence was more than enough answer as he dodged the Beast as it lunged for him.

Slade cackled gleefully and leaned back against a tree. Only he had to move immediately as Beast and Richard attacked him in unison.

"I killed your mother," he said quietly but loud enough for his voice to carry to her in her hiding spot in the trees. Beast roared so loudly and for so long that both men had to cover their ears. Raven felt herself sway in her spot but remained seated. "I killed her because I could. It was easy," he continued. Even with his face hidden it was easy to imagine the sick twisted smile in place.

"My mother and family died a long time ago…" Richard trailed off as if he was struggling with a few memories. "My brother, father, they all died in a freak accident. Ser Wayne took me in."

He was giving out useless information by speaking it out loud but she knew that was the best way for him to reaffirm his memory.

Slade cackled even more as he flung the Beast into a tree. The tree cracked loudly but it didn't faze Beast as he got up and shook his body as if it was a fly buzzing in his ear.

"You were a failure as a scapegoat," he told the Beast. But Beast didn't really seem to comprehend what he was saying, he was just growling anyways. Slade didn't relent on his verbal assault though. "You were so wrapped up in that other spell that you couldn't even capture Blackfire*," he scoffed. "Look at you now. Reduced to a growling incoherent Beast… what a waste… can't exactly portray you as this all powerful spell caster now can we?" he mused. Beast lunged again for him and Slade kicked him away easily. He tisked as if disappointed before turning his assault back on Richard.

Raven felt a pit of cold dread well up inside her. Silently she made her way down from the tree, making sure not to move too suddenly to draw any attention. Jason had been the scapegoat, they had tried to pin it all on him. All those years ago when Blackfire had been in danger… Only it had failed, they couldn't control him with his curse. She supposed it was a good thing, but the way he was rabidly running about now didn't give her much hope.

"Only your brother lives. He abandoned you. He left you so he could track me down and get revenge…" Slade was purring. Raven was just a few feet from the ground by now. Slade had effectively worked Richard up to the point where her friend was attacking him with everything he had.

"You're lying!" Richard shouted. "Jason would never…" he stopped and stood there dumbly as the connection was made. She opened her mouth in time to scream.

"RICHARD!"

It was too late. Beast had slammed into him at full force and knocked him into a nearby tree.

()()()()()()()()()

_She's here. _

That was his one human thought that gave him a sense of new purpose. She was bent over the man he had just struck, a look of worry plastered on her face and black magic whipping about her dangerously. She took several deep breaths and her hands started to glow blue. He didn't have time to study her though. He had to take care of the other thing that was endangering her.

This madman that stood before him laughing madly.

"You just killed your kid brother," he said.

The words sounded like a jumble in his head. He could care less about what he said anyways. It didn't matter; all he knew was that _he_ was out to get her. And he wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

In a speed that was hard to follow he lunged for the man. It was over surprisingly quick. His teeth sank in with a satisfactory crunch around his jugular and he shook the body violently for reassurance. He flung the corpse to the ground and started to head back to Raven. Only the man he had taken out earlier was up, and his arms were wrapped around Raven in an embrace.

He felt white hot rage grip him and he let out his fiercest roar possible. Raven was his. She was his! He started charging towards them only Raven jumped out in front. Her arms splayed out protectively.

"JASON!" she screamed. "NO!"

He halted. Jason. His name was Jason?

Memories starting coming back to him, slowly but surely.

"Rae… ven?" he coughed. Fur seemed to magically disappear off of him, and his claws retracted and his height shortened. He winced. He had barely noticed the pain as he transformed but this felt agonizingly slow. His last transformation back to human had been gradual and been much more bearable. He took a step towards her. His mind getting foggy as those violet eyes stared at him with pure worry. They were the last thing he saw as he faded into the black.

()()()()()()()()()()()

His head was pounding and it felt like he had drank a shit ton of alcohol excessively. He moaned and pushed the soft blanket off his body.

"Where am-"

"Prison," Karen's curt voice cut off his question before he could even ask it. He sat up and blinked trying to get used to the low light. His friends were all lined up next to his bed. Although for a prison his bed was rather comfortable, in fact the place hardly looked like a prison but more like a room. A few candles were lit on a desk which had several piles of books stacked on it. A few large overstuffed chairs were placed in several random intervals, there was a roaring fireplace with a cozy fire crackling away, and no chains. This defiantly didn't feel like prison.

"Where's-"

"She's in court right now, as we speak, getting her sentence," Roy said. He looked bored and in fact was lounging in an overstuffed chair with a plate of food neatly propped in his lap.

"Court?" he asked. His head throbbed again.

"She hid the fact that she was an Azarathean for all these years… they are pretty angry about it," Jinx said. She moved away from his bed side to lean again the wall next to the fireplace. Gizmo was playing Chess with Garth on the floor in front of it. Karen looked just as bored as Roy only she had a paper sprawled in her lap that she seemed to be studying vigorously.

"Alright can someone please just fill me in since I passed out," he hissed feeling angry at his friends but at the same time slightly amused. Leave it to them to leave him in the dark and then give him vague details out of what he was sure was a very complicated story.

"You and Richard are brothers," Jinx started.

"Brother Blood was defeated by Victor," Garth added.

"We were all immediately put into custody because Raven has some type of power that lashes out whenever she has too much emotion… she couldn't say anything in our behalf without something blowing up… which has gotten her in trouble because she refuses to let Kori reseal her and wants to return to her own country," Gizmo said with a lazily drawl in his voice. "Checkmate," he added and Garth cursed darkly under his breath.

"Your brother seemed pretty keen on making sure we were treated nicely though," Roy put in. He grinned up at Jason. "Nice perks on that one."

"I don't think my brother and I ever got along very well," he said slowly. His memories were still flooding back to him at an alarming rate but they confirmed that Richard was indeed his brother.

"He seems to think the same thing… but you are his only family left," Jinx said as if that explained everything.

"What will they do to Raven… if –"

"She's gonna bust us all out of here and we can live as refugees in her country. She seems pretty keen on going back there and rebuilding it," Roy interrupted him. "I wouldn't worry too much, on top of the amazing fighting skills she has, she has these new weird powers… she can handle a whole army with ease."

"Which is why they are so scared of her. Look what three Azaratheans did to an entire defenseless country," quipped Garth.

"She's the only one left…" he told them. His hand shot down to his belt as he thumbed the mirror the fairy had left him. A rare gift for the one he was sure to give his heart to, a gift to help her. Jinx's hair was pinned up in a new odd hair doo but the glint of metal reflecting off the fireplace caught his attention.

"Are the doors locked?" he asked as an idea sprung to him.

"Yes," everyone answered with an eye roll.

"Jinx, give me your bobby pin," he said kicking his legs out over the side of the bed.

()()()()()()()()

"_We hereby ban you from Tamera."_

The words seemed to echo in her head with finality. She couldn't escape the amount of emotions that were coursing through her. She had to get away, but she had nowhere to turn to. Azarath was in shambles and instead of being encouraged to heal her country she was forced back to it with no foreign country help. She had been hoping that her friendship with Kori would be enough to save her from this type of fate. Her newfound powers seemed to leak out of her and she quickly tried to think of something to stabilize her emotions. Nothing too happy, nothing too sad, she had to be blank.

It was incredibly hard, after all of these years being able to freely express her emotions to suddenly have to revert back to being in control all of the time. It wasn't enough for her to give up her powers though. They were her birthright. Tamera had no right to try and suppress her…

"Please friend Raven. It will be best if –"

She had cut Kori off with the ugliest glare she could manage. She would not be told what to do any longer. Obeying orders and sticking her neck out only went for her friends. She would not give up her powers. They had helped her save them. But getting kicked out? She would never get to watch over Kori again and exchange small girl talk, or hug Victor after they completed a project, or ruffle Garfield's hair and annoy him for being so young. It was surprising to see how much she loved them all so dearly. She would even miss Richard, he was the one thing that she hadn't had but he was the closest thing to love as she would ever get.

Well that was a lie… there was still Jason.

Her powers immediately lashed out at the mere thought of his name and she winced hurriedly turning her thoughts back to other things. She couldn't let herself dwell in the sadness that was slowly starting to consume her. She probably wouldn't even get to say goodbye to him at this rate.

Her thoughts had run away from her control as she rounded the corner back to her room. She had until sunset to gather all of her things and leave the castle. She was thankful that it was so soon. She didn't think she could handle any long goodbyes.

"Opf-" she slammed into someone just as she rounded the corner.

"Ah just the girl I was looking for," came the teasing voice as hands quickly caught her and righted her from falling.

She would have blushed, she would have yelled at him, she would have done a lot of things, but she had to remain in control. Her eyes shot nervously to the wall behind him and she nodded her thanks to him. She hurriedly tried to push past him but his hand shot out and stopped her.

"Don't think I don't know about your weird voodoo powers now," he grumbled.

"It is not-" she started to protest but a window cracked loudly. Her mouth clamped shut with and audible snap. This was a lot harder than she ever imagined. She started thinking about waterfalls, and meditating to calm herself down.

His hand was still wrapped around hers. His other hand traveled up and caught her chin.

"I have something that might help," he said quietly. She didn't say anything. She just kept thinking over and over again that his eyes reminded her of ice and winter, and how much she loved-

The mirror shattered completely and she winced and lowered her gaze.

"I doubt you have anything to help," she replied monotone. "If you would excuse me?" she said managing to get her hand out of his. The sense of loss was overwhelming and she was surprised at the burning sensation just behind her eyes.

His arm shot up and blocked her way.

"Now now, Rae," he said teasingly. "You haven't seen what I have to offer yet."

"I don't need to see. I have to leave now. It was nice knowing you… Beast," she added the last part spitting it out bitterly. The one hope she had, the one wild card. It could never be hers not really. He was laughing and she tried to focus on the birds flying outside. She really liked how carefree he sounded. It wasn't a sound she had heard enough in her life but she couldn't indulge. For his safety she had to make sure she didn't feel anything. With him around she felt too much.

He leaned forward before she could push him away. His lips sliding against her ear as he purred, "I have the Mirror of Souls," and something cold was placed in her hands. She looked down dumbly at the old beat up mirror. Hope surging through her. She could lock away her emotions with this. She could learn to control. It was by far not going to be an easy process but it was something that would make loving Jason so much easier.

She grinned widely, the first time in days, as nothing exploded at her thoughts.

"A smile fits you better than you acting like everything is doomed," he said his hand slipped behind her head as he pulled her closer. She couldn't manage any words she could just grin at him stupidly.

His lips caught hers for half a heartbeat before he pulled away giving her his heartbreaking smile.

"I heard you want to sneak out of the country," he said.

"More or less I was kicked out," she said darkly. He laughed.

"So you won't mind if I rob the treasure vault blind would you?"

Her mouth hung open in protest but he was already backing away from her. He winked at her.

"I'll see you in Azarath," he told her and he disappeared around the corner waving to her lazily.

"You'll be banned from there too!" she seethed chasing after him but he laughed and dodged her easily. On the inside she was soaring. She knew in the end it would all work out. Because she could stand tall now, with her friends, old and new, supporting her. She could do anything, and as cliché as it sounded it wasn't the end. It was just getting to start over somewhere else and she could do that. She knew she was accepted how she was and that was she needed. She would have to sneak in a goodbye to Victor and Garfield she thought as she charged into her room still chasing Jason.

His grin was enough to undo her. She stood at her door stupidly.

"Where's all my stuff?" she asked feeling annoyed. She had several things she wanted to pack up and she wasn't in the mood to play his little game.

"It's already on its way home," he told her with a shrug. "I hope you don't mind but I packed it with my things and sent the gang on their way there," he told her.

She shook her head trying to hold back her laughter. She couldn't explain the joy she felt. It was like the weight that had been threating to crush her all week had finally been lifted. Even with the Mirror of Souls she was scared to admit why. But she knew, deep within herself, she knew that the reason was because he was alive. He was standing here alive and he was helping her move on. He wasn't telling her everything would be okay, but the glint in his eye told her he didn't care if everything was in shambles. He was accepting her just the way she was, and really that was all she needed.

* * *

><p><em>After the War. Updates on Characters<em>. (**A/N: This actually isn't part of the story. I just did this for fun. But it helped a little with the closure for me. I couldn't continue writing all of this but all of these guys have so much background… it doesn't do them justice but it helps for me. You don't' have to read if you feel like it will wreck it for you.)**

* * *

><p><em>Kori– After years of a failed romance with the captain of her guard Victor. Kori became betrothed to a man from Earth and lived out the rest of her days peacefully. She often travelled back and forth between the three countries and when she took over Tamera she lifted her best friend's ban. She helped Raven rebuild Azarath and would often go see her but in her later years the two girls didn't visit as often but still held a strong sisterly relationship. <em>

_Victor- Heartbroken over his failed romance with the princess Victor moved to Azarath where he served out the remainder of his days as a successful inventor. He helped Azarath grow a lot as a country as was Raven's closest advisor. _

_Garfield – Started a rescue center for animals and had several facilities throughout the three countries. _

_Jinx – Disappeared after the escape from the Tameran jail. She is often thought to behind big heists but no evidence can be found. _

_Gizmo- opened a rival shop to compete with Victor. His inventions weren't nearly as successful but he still made enough to get by. It is thought that he secretly helps Jinx escape authorities but again no evidence can be found. _

_Roy Harper – Known as the best archer he became the first to enlist in Raven's army and became her most trusted advisor. After a short period of time he was given full command of the armies but the country rarely saw any conflict under Raven's rule. _

_Karen "Bees knees or Bee" – After an ugly confrontation with Roy in the middle of a wedding feast she sets her sights on Victor Stone who remains oblivious to her. She is one of Raven's closest friends but starts to distance herself when both of her romances fail and both men are so active in her friend's life. After some time she simply disappears muttering something about 'men and not knowing fashion.'_

_Richard – Stays in Tamera to help the people regain trust for their neighboring country. He is at the front of every meeting for good relations and the common folk adore him. After some time he returns to Earth and marries a common girl and lives a quiet life in the country. _

_Trigon- Raven's father returned to Azarath in shame. He was largely ignored by his daughter because of his inability to throw a simple curse off a second rate wizard – as she liked to call Brother Blood. The man died an early death, the cause a heart attack. _

_Garth – Started a Sushi shop in Azarath. He often could be found showing children how to swim in the royal pool and was one of Raven's closest friends. He was rather quiet but he would always be her silent support and she went to him often just to rant knowing he would be there for her. _

_Brother Blood – Killed in action by Victor during the War of Confusion. After his death everyone's memories were returned and the sad man was forgotten by many. Raven made sure to take him out of all honorable records he might have had as an Azarathean. After his death too a lot of Azaratheans came forward suddenly remembering that they had a home, and blamed Brother Blood for taking their powers and their country. He is referred to as a curse word when mentioned in Azarath. _

_Jason/Beast – Word about the Beast got out and people took up their guns and pitch forks and violently hunted this creature. It was never found but it was said to be a horrific creature that would steal children from their homes and eat them if they misbehaved. Jason delighted by the story spread it as often as he could. He was never able to really give up his theifing ways and had to remain on the down low once he did steal all of the treasure within Tamera's vault. Wanted as a criminal again he resided close to the palace in Azarath. He never did marry. Tales say that he loved a Princess and she loved him back but to keep the country from having a thieving king they kept their romance within their hearts._

_Raven – Years of struggling with her emotions even with the Mirror of Souls finally paid off. She was able to freely express her emotions and led the country to glory and back on top. With hard work and support from her friends she was always smiling and was always kind. She fought often and loudly in the garden with someone but no one was ever able to figure out who although there were rumors that the thief Jason had stolen her heart. She never married either but named her next heir. She lived a peaceful life and was always telling others of her fond memories of the War of Confusion, often saying "I was confused just like everyone else, yes. I had my memory blocked but there are some things that can't be withheld from a person and that is love. As long as I had love I was able to keep on going. Even if I didn't know it at the time, love helped me survive." She would always lecture children about the importance of love and the importance of Acceptance even if they didn't know someone. Acceptance is what saved their Queen after all. _

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Alright so NOT how I was planning on ending this story but it sort of wrote itself. This has truly been one of the most interesting pieces I have written and I am glad I planned it out so thoroughly. It was a good learning experience. I am so thankful for all the support for this story. All the reviews, reads, favorites, alerts, you name it, you guys and girls rock! I wouldn't have been able to get so far with this story. Seriously (as stupid as this sounds) your reviews really inspired me. I know it sounds lame that oh blah blah you're that type of author but I have tons of stories that don't' get nearly the same amount of attention as this one and I still do them. I think a lot of you guys just gave me ideas or helped with a character with something you said. I think I really grew with this story… alright I'll stop ranting. Much love.

Until next time,

~Oceanwind~


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